


Wrap Your Arms Around Me Till Your Knuckles Are Burning White

by AFangirlFantasy



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: 19-Year-Old Harry, 25-Year-Old Louis, Age Difference, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Auction, CEO Louis, Dom Louis, Dom/sub, Dominant Louis Tomlinson, Human Trafficking, M/M, Mild Smut, Older Louis, Poor Harry, Rich Louis, Strangers to Lovers, Sub Harry, Submissive Harry, Younger Harry, but not really, larry - Freeform, minimal use of gun, more like VP, prostitution mentioned in the past, tags are making this sound worse than it is, zaniam - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-21
Updated: 2016-07-21
Packaged: 2018-07-25 22:35:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 58,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7549894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AFangirlFantasy/pseuds/AFangirlFantasy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where human trafficking is legal, 19 year old Harry Styles surrenders his freedom to the Cooperative Affiliation of Human Exchange, aka CAHE. One week later, 25 year old Louis Tomlinson of Tomlinson Enterprises, attends 'The Auction.' Let the bidding begin. </p><p>or</p><p>au where Louis' in a bidding war against Simon Cowell and ends up winning the best prize of all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wrap Your Arms Around Me Till Your Knuckles Are Burning White

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, this took me sooo long and I worked so hard on this, so I hope you all really like it!! It always means a lot to me whenever someone leaves comments and/or kudos! I love you all so much, and thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to ready this story! xoxo 
> 
> Also, sorry for the formatting, it always comes out different going from Word, and I can't be bothered to change it. And credit to all the artists who edited the photos I used for my photo board!

   

 

 

**Harry (One Week Prior)**

_Ten more steps till I’m at the door, nine more steps, eight._ Pacing quickly from the sidewalk, Harry heads toward the gold building decorated with intricate metal vines that race around the sign, CAHE. Or otherwise known as, Cooperative Affiliation of Human Exchange. He takes a deep breath before thinking to himself,  _I love you so much._  As the words flood into his system, and quicken the pounding of his heart, he reassures himself one last time that this is the right decision to make. That this is the only decision to make, before taking a hold of the black door handles, and stepping inside.

**Louis (Present Day)**

“Kick! Punch! Kick! Block!”

Louis arranges his posture and follows the orders of his trainer, kicking, punching, kicking, blocking. Sweat drips down his skin like droplets of rain, leaving him to shine under the fluorescent lights of the exercise room.

“Alright Louis, that’s enough for today! Doing good, really starting to see a difference.”

“Thanks.”

Louis responds with heavy breaths as he heads to drink water from his green, tin bottle; chugging the cold liquid until it floods in his veins.

“So…you going to ‘The Auction,’ tonight?”

His trainer has a devilish smile, and Louis can’t help to feel a chill run up his spine.

“Yes, I am.”

“Reckon I’ll be seeing you there, then. Probably can’t afford anything tonight, but can’t hurt to check out the merch anyways, right?”

He slaps his hand against Louis’ arm in a gesture that is supposed to procure laughter, and even though his trainer is laughing at his own obnoxious comment, Louis doesn’t find it remotely funny.

“You know they’re still people, right Tim?”

“Jeez, Tomlinson. Don’t get your panties in a twist.”

Louis is not amused. In fact, he is so not amused that he would very much like to punch him, and genuinely knock him out. Unfortunately, at this stage in his physical therapy, he is in no way, shape, or form, able to do that. Which just really fucking sucks.

“Right, well I’m gonna go.”

“See you later, then.”

But no, even if they are the only two people who go tonight, Louis will make damn well sure that he does not see Tim there. Or possibly ever, outside of his training.

ê ê ê ê

“Mr. Tomlinson, ‘The Auction’ is such an extravagant event, you’re going to be meeting with the poshest and richest people in this city. You must be awfully nervous.”

Eleanor was always so timid around Louis, and spoke to him with utmost respect and formality, despite being his personal assistant for over a year. She’s been great though, sticking by him through the rise of his status at his father’s company, and even still at his more  _unappealing_  times. She’s loyal, but she’s just his employee, and Louis wonders if that’s how he feels about all the people he acquaints himself with nowadays.

“No, I’m not really worried. I imagine it will be a good opportunity to expose myself to fellow businessmen and entrepreneurs.”

“Those sounds like your father’s words.”

“That’s because they are.”

Eleanor’s lips twitch into a slight smile, but it never grows into something more, while Louis’ expression remains unaffected. He’s not sure when he became so unfazed by those around him, when he became so immune to any kind of human emotion. Maybe it happened when his whole life just became about the company. Maybe it happened when he learned there were few people he could trust. Maybe it happened when he shut his heart into a metal cage, forcing it to grow cold and dark, within the chambers of his soul.

ê ê ê ê

“Mr. Pritchard, I don’t believe you’ve met my son, Louis. I’ll have you know he’s on track to become the next CEO of Tomlinson Enterprises. Great talent, he is.”

Louis’ father introduces him to another elder man in an expensive black and white tux. The man, Mr. Pritchard, has white hair that dusts lightly on top a rather shiny head, and his circular glasses create the illusion of his eyes being bigger than they are. As Louis extends his hand out to shake the other man’s, he catches his father grinning greedily on. Louis looks nothing like his father, Louis with his blue eyes and lighter brown hair, resembles his mother in every way possible…which he is consistently thankful for.

“Louis, so nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard wonderful things.”

“Thank you, Mr. Pritchard, but the pleasure is all mine.”

And Louis knows this is the part where he’s won him over. As his father always told him, ‘first impressions are the most important part in sealing any sort of deal. If you have to kiss arse to get what you want, then you better pucker up.’ Louis has never been one to be dramatic in his efforts, however, because his father raised him ‘right,’ charming others is just second nature at this point. As he smiles confidently in return to Mr. Pritchard, the elder fellow’s cheeks blush pink, and the deal is sealed. Mr. Pritchard will become an important asset once Louis’ in his father’s position, and that, he’s quite sure of.

After Louis has finished winning over other partners and potential interests within the industry, he steps away to grab himself a glass of champagne. He’s been here for over an hour, and yet, this is the first time he’s really getting to take it all in. ‘The Auction’ occurs once a month, and this is where the most elite come to gather, and socialize, and even…compete. It begins with cocktail hour as everyone arrives in their finest attire, drinking and discussing politics as they wait for the bell. The bell, then chimes, to inform everyone that ‘The Auction’ is ready to begin.

Louis only knows this much from his father, but as he’s been told, once they hear the bells, everyone will walk through large elegant doors into another, more secluded room. This additional room will be enveloped in chandeliers, decorative pieces, and a wait staff ready to assist the auctioneers into a drunken state that helps them spend their money more lavishly than ever. Louis has never been here, never been to ‘The Auction’ before, but he doubts he’ll spend any of his money tonight. There is nothing morally acceptable about the purchase of humans, and this whole event truly leaves a bitter taste in Louis’ mouth.

**Harry**

“Hey you! You need to get in line, this shit’s about to start.”

Panic does not even begin to describe the emotions coursing through Harry’s circulatory system. What had he been thinking? This was a horrible idea, and he can’t believe that he did this to himself! And even with the images flashing through his memory to remind him of who he’s done this to himself for, he still shouldn’t have done it. But before his thoughts can further ignite regret, he’s being grabbed by a female, and shoved into a dressing room.

“I’m sorry love, but we don’t have all night. I’m gonna need to do your hair, and your outfit, as soon as possible.”

Harry sits still as the lavender haired woman begins brushing into his chocolate curls. Staring into the mirror in front of where he’s seated, he can hardly recognize the reflection glaring back. He’s lost so much weight in such a short amount of time, his eyes are dull in comparison to their once vibrant green color, and his lips are shriveled and crackled.  _What have I done,_ he fears quietly in his head.

“Okay, hun. Your hair is all done, now you just need to strip.”

“I’m going out there naked?”

“No, in this.”

She lifts up a nude colored cotton bed sheet within her hands, and Harry’s face must express the shock he’s feeling.

“I know this seems scary, but I promise this is the worst part. We just need to wrap it around your waist to keep your private bits covered, and then you’re good to go.”

He’s not sure how it happens, but Harry enters a state of pure numbness. He can hear what she’s saying, but he can’t respond. He can’t truly move. He somewhat lifts his arms as the woman tugs at his clothes, standing cold and naked as she wraps the sheets low around his hips. After he’s pinned up, the woman guides Harry out of the room and into a line with at least twenty other people in the same position as him. Girls and boys, all relinquishing their freedom for some unknown reason, and yet, Harry can relate to them all. He knows how they’re feeling, and he knows it’s not good. He just wants to run.

ê ê ê ê

A bell rings, and the line starts to move. Harry follows begrudgingly, as he stays in tandem with the boy in front of him. They’re supposed to keep their heads down, but Harry keeps looking up at the passing scenery around him. The place they are at is eloquent, and the people surrounding them are adorned in enchanting dresses and tuxedos. For the few bystanders watching on, Harry tries to avoid eye contact, but then, then someone is smiling at him, and Harry can’t help from looking directly in their face, and fuck…suddenly the oxygen in his lungs is being constricted.

Simon. Harry was not aware that Simon was even allowed at events like these, much less want to be here. Harry never even questioned whether their paths would cross again, and yet here they are, feet apart, and in a very uncompromising position. At least for Harry. And as Simon’s eyes latch onto Harry, and watch him with malicious intent, Harry feels acid burn in the back of his throat. He’s going to be sick.

“Hey! Keep moving!”

The words are targeted at Harry as he stops moving his feet, slowing down the line. He tries to refocus his thoughts into counting how many steps he takes, but Simon’s face remains in the forefront of his mind, and Harry can’t breathe.

**Louis**

“Louis, this way.”

The bells have chimed, and Louis follows his father as they walk with the crowd. Large doors have opened to allow the group into the main hall, where ‘The Auction’ will be held. Louis tries to maintain his calm, but a part of him jolts angrily at the thought of seeing this all first hand.

“Mr. Tomlinson, we have a spot reserved for you in the front.”

“Thank you.”

The two Tomlinsons follow behind a waiter, who leads them to a section of chairs three rows from the stage. They take their seats, as other’s continue to gather around the room, finding their own set of assigned chairs.

“Now Louis, this would be a good time to show your dominance as a leader.”

“We’ll see, father. I don’t intend to find anything I’ll like.”

“Is there ever anything that sparks your interest?”

Louis smirks to his father’s response as the two return to the silence that had filled before. A few minutes pass with the crowd quieting down, and then the lights dim. The black curtains that had been shielding the majority of the stage dramatically open, and a male walks forward, towards the mic stand.

“Hello one and all to tonight’s auction! We have many beautiful items for sale this evening, that are sure to appeal to the most uninterested of man. Now for those that are new, I welcome you with open arms to my humble abode. Also, know that in order to bid, you must hold your hand up high, and that any and all purchases made tonight, are final. So with that out of the way, let’s begin our show! Our first piece tonight is a lovely girl, twenty-four years old, five foot seven, and naturally blonde.”

After the announcer has read off information about the female, she then walks onto the stage where he directs her to the front. She’s dressed in sheets that only cover her chest and waist. Louis scoffs,  _how uncivil._

“Let’s start the bidding at five thousand dollars.”

Hands fly up around the room, and the announcer increases the price as the eager patrons continue to wave. In the end, she’s bought for fifteen thousand dollars. The announcer continues, introducing new people as they walk on stage, and are sold off to the highest bidder. There are ten people that pass by and Louis is simply yawning into the back of his hand, when his father leans into him, whispering into his ear.

“This is the best selection I’ve seen thus far.”

Louis turns to disagree, but then he’s struck by an unfamiliar force. Intrigue. His blue eyes latch onto a figure with brown curls cascading around a handsome face, green eyes piercing under the stage light, and long legs stumbling across the floor. Louis’ stomach flutters and he almost yelps at the foreign feeling taking him hostage. Of course though, he’s been raised better than to make a scene. Despite how he’s feeling on the inside, his facial expression continues on as bored, albeit a hint of fascination touching at his eyes.

“The bidding for this young gent will begin at seven thousand dollars.”

Louis’ hand flies before he’s even realized what he’s done. Glancing over, his father’s eyes raise in surprise, and excitement, as he acknowledges Louis’ sudden participation. His father probably assumes Louis’ competitive side is shining through, and his need to exert his dominance is forcing Louis to bid, but if only he knew that Louis’ been moved by other unexplainable factors.

“Seven thousand for Mr. Tomlinson, do I see eight thousand?”

The announcer points in the direction of the opposite room, and Louis’ neck almost breaks at how fast he whips his head when he hears the name, ‘Cowell,’ repeated. Louis was already going to do what he could to bring home the boy before, but now seeing he’s against Simon fucking Cowell, his reasoning for spending all his money is even more justified. He must outbid Simon, there’s no other option.

“Do I see ten thousand? Fifteen? Twenty?”

The price keeps raising as Louis’ and Simon’s hands fly up, beating out all other competitors, and leaving just the two of them in the race. Louis doesn’t flinch as the announcer continues to go higher, doesn’t even break a sweat, although his insides are churning.

“Fifty thousand dollars.”

Louis’ hand surges forward, and the crowd turns their attention to Simon, he hesitates for a few moments, leaving everyone in the room to hold their breaths in anticipation, before he finally surrenders. The first time all night, a slight grin erupts on Louis’ face.

“Going once. Going twice. SOLD to Mr. Tomlinson!”

The audience is stunned, all staring at Louis until their attentions are persuaded by another person walking onto the stage. Louis’ father leans into him once he accepts people are no longer gazing in their vicinity.

“You’ve done well, Louis. You’re going to be a great leader.”

“I plan on it.”

They both lean back into their chairs, watching as the rest of the people are bought by other important business, financial, and political figures. As the last person is purchased, the announcer returns to center stage with an awed expression upon his face.

“Well to say tonight was a success would be a vast understatement. Tonight is by far, one of the most profitable night’s we’ve ever had, and so we owe a huge ‘thank you’ to all those that participated this evening. Thank you! Also, for those that have made purchases, you may pick up your items at the desk in the other room. Other than that, please continue to mingle, and enjoy while the night is young. Goodnight!”

Music begins playing through speaks as everyone who had been seated, now stands up. Voices are soon heard as others now engage in idle conversation, but Louis focuses his attention on heading to the other room. Steering his feet ahead, he makes his way through another pair of doors, into a place with a large bar. There’s also a desk on the far left of the room, where some people have already begun to acquire their ‘items.’

“Hello Mr. Tomlinson, here to pick up Harry Styles?”

 _Harry Styles._ Louis had not been paying any attention when the announcer was providing the boy’s information, so he never heard the name once he started to bid.

“Yes, but before you do, I’m afraid I’ve forgotten what his details are. Would it be possible for you to retell me, darling?”

The girl’s cheeks flush as she eagerly nods her head. It only takes a moment for her to pull out a folder with the name, Styles, written on top.

“Here it is! So his name is Harry Styles. He’s nineteen years old, five foot eleven, brown hair, green eyes, comes from Holmes Chapel, and surrendered himself.”

“Did you say he ‘ _surrendered himself?”_

“Yes.”

It’s not often head of for someone to surrender their own rights to the CAHE. In most cases, people are in debt, have committed a crime, or made some unfortunate deal with the wrong person. Many of the young adults being sold are juvenile delinquents, who chose that as an alternative to their sentences. It’s one of the reasons Louis hates the system so much, because despite people ultimately making the decision themselves, they’re typically thrown into a corner so far that they have no other choice to make.

There are rules and regulations, however, to keep the system in check. Plus, if any of the people that have been purchased through ‘The Auction’ are harmed or worse, there are severe consequences. People haven’t been arrested much, but of the few that have been discovered, they were charged and sentenced for life. Unfortunately, just because those kind of arrests haven’t happened frequently, doesn’t mean that they don’t ever occur. Many of these elitist assholes won’t rat someone out when they themselves are doing the same thing, but it has happened, and the point is, it still could.

“Right, well go on and get him now. Thank you for your help.”

“Anytime.”

**Harry**

The minute that Harry walks back off stage, he runs to the bathroom and explodes. The nerves that had been raging in his stomach while Simon was trying to buy him, almost knocked him to his knees. Had the other person not been bidding on him as well, Harry would have broken down completely, but instead, his focus was kept on the handsome young bloke with the burning blue eyes. Mr. Tomlinson.

After Harry wipes away at his mouth, the feeling of being empty settles in, and he actually finds himself content. He’s not really happy in any way, but after his near death experience of being sold to Simon, he feels a lot better than before. Really, he can’t complain. Not yet, any ways.

ê ê ê ê

“Alright hun, let’s get you ready for your owner.”

“That makes me sound like I’m an animal.”

“Sorry.”

The lavender haired woman that had been doing Harry’s hair before, is now getting him dressed and situated for going home. Well, not his home, but Harry guesses it’s still a home none-the-less, and just has to be better than the place he’s been for this past week.

“Do you know, Mr. Tomlinson, by any chance?”

Harry asks curiously to the woman as she combs through his curls again.

“Nope, but I know of him. He started Tomlinson Enterprises in his thirties, and has become one of the wealthiest business moguls in the world. They invest a lot in other companies…where there’s money to be made, they’re there to make it.”

“Are you sure we’re talking about the same person? I don’t think the person I’m thinking of has even hit his thirties.”

“Oh, you must mean the son. Louis. He’s up and coming, likely to take over his father’s legacy. Hadn’t ever seen him here until tonight.”

The woman finishes flicking her fingers through Harry’s hair, and then gestures for him to stand up.

“You know, I never got your name.”

“It’s Louise, but everyone just calls me Lou.”

“Well Lou, thank you.”

Harry’s not sure why he feels compelled to hug her, maybe because the whole week that he’d been here he hadn’t had any real conversations, but he leans in regardless. She’s the first one to really acknowledge him, and somehow, that means a lot. With his arms pressed her, she returns the gesture, and then pats him on the back.

“Good luck!”

ê ê ê ê

There’s a waiting room where everyone sits until their name is called. Harry has just only made his way over, by the time he’s being summoned to leave. He wasn’t expecting to be rushed, and suddenly the quiet moment he thought he’d have to himself beforehand, is exceedingly out of reach. His mind races, but he doesn’t have time to freak out as the girl who had been calling his name, grabs onto him, and pulls him away.  _Goodbye Mum, Goodbye Gem,_ he begins to think, _this is the last time I’ll be Harry Styles, this is the last moment that I can still be myself. I already miss you tremendously, and no matter what happens, I love you with all of my heart. For now, this is goodbye._

Harry’s eyes water, but tears never escape through the barriers that hold against them. It doesn’t mean though, that he’s not dying on the inside. Just like Harry, pain has a funny way of hiding behind scars, but it’s still there. Always just below the surface. Always a little vulnerable and sore.

**Louis**

If Louis had thought the boy was attractive from the view he had before, it did not even relatively come close to what it was like seeing him face-to-face. He’s gorgeous. And sure, Louis notices that he’s exhausted, and frail, but the minute he sees past all that, he can see all the genuine beauty that the younger boy possesses. He’s insurmountably gorgeous, with his charming green eyes, and boyish curls. Despite Louis still hating the fact that he even bid to begin with, he also feels glorious for having beaten out that lowly Simon Cowell…and having Harry Styles doesn’t seem like a bad added benefit, either.

“Alright Mr. Tomlinson, here is Harry. Now I just need you both to sign the bottom of this sheet, accepting that you understand the terms and conditions, and blah, blah, blah, before you leave.”

Louis nods and grabs for a pen, as Harry waits patiently to use the one Louis has. When Louis lifts his head back up, he extends the pen towards Harry, who grabs for it while also lightly brushing against Louis’ fingers. Louis’ breath catches, and he tries to cover his waiver in confidence by coughing into his hand. When Harry is done signing, Louis hands the paper back to the girl behind the desk, who happily collects it.

“Thank you, Mr. Tomlinson. Have a good night!”

The girl excitedly calls out to them as Harry follows behind Louis, making their way towards the entrance doors. Louis is sure that Harry is confused why he hasn’t said anything yet, but even the walls have ears, and Louis would like to have their first conversation in a place a bit more private. Especially away from the presence of his father.

ê ê ê ê

“So, Harry Styles, I’m not sure if you know who I am or not, but my name is Louis Tomlinson. I’m a Vice President at Tomlinson Enterprises, where I plan to take over the position of my father. I’m twenty-five years old, I’m five foot eight, and I don’t find myself intrigued in many things.”

They are in the backseat of Louis’ limo, and Louis can tell Harry is befuddled and uncomfortable, so Louis continues to talk to save their conversation from falling flat.

“I just figured you’d want to know the same basic information about me, that I know about you.”

“Oh, okay.”

Harry’s voice comes out octaves lower than Louis could have imagined, and it’s quiet ridiculous how taken he finds himself by that.

“Is there anything you want to ask me?”

“Erm, why did you… buy… me?”

The words that leave Harry’s mouth come out shaky, and while Louis was hoping this would be one of the last things he would have to address, of course it comes out first.

“That’s a fair question. Honestly, I did not think that I would make any purchases, ever, at any auction. I’m not fond of the idea of selling humans, and I had no interest in owning someone. But then, well then I saw you, and you somehow…well, anyways. And then Simon starting bidding, and I have a personal discontent for that man, so naturally I started to bid just to win. I apologize for that, by the way.”

Harry starts shaking his head ‘no.’

“Actually, I am really grateful that you did. I know Simon, and it would not have ended well if he had been the one to buy me, so really, I owe you my life.”

“Good thing, cause I already have it.”

Louis was trying to make a joke, albeit a terrible one at that, but Harry grins anyways, and it’s blinding how nice it is. With the tension slowly dissipating, Louis talks again.

“You know Harry, I just want to put this out there, that I’m never going to take advantage or abuse you. If there’s something you are not comfortable with doing, you say so. The biggest thing I want from you is honesty, there are few people I respect because of it.”

“I understand that, and I agree. I think honesty is the only way for things to work.”

Louis has never felt himself be charmed before, always on the other side impressing his acquaintances, and yet, here he is, being taken aback by a nineteen-year-old subordinate, none-the-less.

**Harry**

Studying the passing scenery from the backseat of the limo, Harry’s view is intercepted by a house, or rather mansion, tucked away in a small opening in the woods. Harry attempts to analyze more about his new environment, but it’s late at night, and the darkness is unforgiving. All he can see is the steep driveway leading down to the house, and all the windows that are illuminated by lights turned on inside. There’s also just enough glow around the house to see impeccable wooden architecture, giving the feel of a modern log cabin, and Harry finds himself completely amazed. This place is beautiful.

“Well Harry, this is my home. I live here with my best mate Zayn, and his two subordinates, Niall and Liam.”

“He has two?”

“It’s a long story, but yes, he does.”

Harry nods his head, and then follows after Louis who has started to head towards the front door. It’s not a huge surprise, but Harry was worried enough about having his first night with Louis, and now, there’s three other people to consider. At least two of them are in the same situation as him, so maybe it won’t be so bad after all.

Grabbing at the doorknob, Louis twists the handle and walks inside first. Harry repeats Louis’ movements, walking nervously after him while sticking a little too close to his back, as they enter into his home. Once inside, Louis immediately starts to take off his shoes with Harry beginning to do the same, when a voice echoes from above.

“Louis!”

Looking up, Harry is almost sure he’s staring into the face of a God. The man that had been calling out is beyond beautiful with his midnight hair slicked back on the sides, dark enchanting eyes, and infinitely long eyelashes. Every inch of the man is perfectly sculpted, and Harry can’t help but wonder why someone like Harry sparked interest in Louis Tomlinson, when this man exists. Not only that, but he lives with Louis, too.

“Zayn, hello.”

The man, Zayn, comes down the stairs and grabs Louis in for a hug, before kissing him on either side of his cheeks. After they pull a part, Zayn finally addresses Harry’s presence with a smug smirk.

“So, boo bear, who’d you bring home?”

Louis laughs and rolls his eyes.

“Zayn, this is Harry, he’s my…my uhm, my subordinate.”

Zayn’s eyebrows raise in surprise, and then he turns back to Harry, analyzing him carefully. Harry’s not sure what test Zayn has him going through currently, but he hopes he’s passing. After another minute, Zayn finally extends his tanned hand out.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Zayn.”

“Harry.”

They shake their hands firmly, and then Zayn calls out loudly into the house.

“Niall! Liam!”

Hardly seconds pass when two other boys walk from a bedroom upstairs, and down to the main floor where everyone else is gathered. As Harry gets a better picture of them, he sees that one is bleached blonde with brilliant blue eyes, and the other has shaved brown hair with sweet brown eyes.

“Niall, Liam, this is Louis’ new pet, Harry.”

The term that Zayn calls Harry nags him in the worst way possible, but he tries to maintain his composure as the other two boys greet him happily.

“Hiya Harry, nice to meet. I’m Niall, and this here is Liam.”

The blonde introduces himself as Niall, and the other boy standing next to him as Liam.

“Hi Harry.”

“Hi lads, it’s nice to meet you both.”

As they all shake hands, Harry happens to scan his eyes over to Louis, who seems to be watching fondly at the interaction.

“Right, well Harry and I are going to bed, it’s been a long night. See you three in the morning.”

Everyone says goodnight, and then parts separate ways. The three other boys go back upstairs where they came from, while Louis leads Harry to a hidden bedroom, on the main floor. When Harry enters inside the room, the first thing he notices is the view outside of the wall of windows. There’s nature taking over his entire line of sight, with trees stretching high into the dark night, and colorful plants barely noticeable, scattered on the ground. It’s so breathtaking, that he speaks without even meaning to.

“Woah.”

“Yeah, it’s my favorite view in this whole house. ‘S why I chose this room.”

Harry pulls his focus away, and turns to face Louis.

“Erm, where should I sleep tonight?”

“I obviously wasn’t planning on having guests tonight, so you can sleep on the couch, or you can sleep in my room. I don’t mind sharing the bed, and honestly, it’s more comfortable. But the choice is yours.”

“I think I’d like to stay in your room.”

Too busy fidgeting with his nails as he responds to Louis, Harry misses the way the older boy smiles admiringly at him. By the time Harry’s eyes are returned to Louis’ face, his smile has faded, although his expression is still content.

“Sure. You can just put your dirty clothes in my hamper for now, and anything in the bathroom you are free to use. Oh, and there’s brand new toothbrushes in the cupboard below the sink, since you’ll probably need it.”

A faint grin, one that isn’t wide enough to bare any teeth, coils itself on Harry. It appears for Louis, as Harry tries to show some form of appreciation for all that he’s done so far for him. But Harry still feels timid, while at the same time, also afraid that the smile isn’t enough. So for good measure, he makes sure to say it too.

“Thanks.”

**Louis**

Harry decided that he really needed a shower, so Louis waits in bed for him as he listens to the running water. It’s the first time all night he’s been able to truly breathe, and he’s genuinely curious what’s gotten over him. Harry is good looking, no doubt, but there’s something in the way that he stands, or maybe in the way that he talks, that has Louis curious in more than just the physical. Obviously, Louis still really knows nothing about Harry, and he wants to ask him about why he surrendered his own freedom, but tonight is not the night for a conversation such as that one. In the meantime, Louis will have to push it off to the side.

With nothing really to do but wait, Louis pulls out his phone to check for any notifications or updates to occupy him during this idle time. Aside from a missed call from Eleanor, there is nothing, and so Louis continues to lie in boredom until the door to the bathroom swings open. When Louis glances at Harry, his mouth drops open slightly, until he’s conscious to bring it back up again. Harry steps out naked, with damp hair strewn about his face, and his soaked body only covered by a little towel wrapped around his waist. It’s not fair that Harry looks this obscenely attractive with just some water splashed on him.

“Sorry I took so long. Felt nice to have a shower with hot water.”

Louis is pulled from the river of inappropriate thoughts filling his mind, at Harry’s comment. It was probably not meant to mean something, but it strikes Louis immediately, regardless.

“Have you not had hot water where the CAHE keep you, before ‘The Auction?’”

“Are you not aware of what goes on there?”

Louis sits up in his bed, giving Harry his full attention.

“What are you talking about?”

At first, Harry appears determined in wanting to say something, but then a quick change of expression tells Louis that he’s not getting to hear it tonight. And while Louis wants to know, he also is blatantly aware that it’s only been two hours of them together, and he doesn’t want to push anything.

“Actually, I’m really tired, to be honest. Is it okay if I just go to sleep now?”

“Yeah, sure. In fact, I’ll do the same. Could do me some good to go to bed early.”

“Thank you.”

Louis moves his body again, so that he’s lying down on his right side. He tries to not to pay any attention to the beautiful boy who’s currently taking his towel completely off, and pulling on boxers. Nope, Louis will not even peek despite being able to hear the towel dropping to the floor, which makes his stomach flutter.

After Harry has pulled on his boxers and placed his clothes, and the towel, in Louis’ hamper, he slides into bed. Immediately, it’s evident to Louis that Harry left a large amount of space between his own body and Louis’. It doesn’t surprise Louis that Harry would be timid to sleep in a strangers bed, but he also doesn’t want Harry to feel like he’s unwelcomed in this space. So Louis turns his body around forcing Harry to face him, and whispers into the distance between them.

“Harry, you can move closer if you want, love.”

Love slipped out. Louis has never referred to anyone as ‘love,’ except for his sisters. His heart is racing due to his internal panic, but Harry’s eyes fly open at the term, and then a look of gratitude resides on his face, which to Louis, makes the slip well worth it.

“Are you sure?”

Harry’s deep voice penetrates into Louis, causing him to feel emotions he’s never even been aware of before.

“Yes, I don’t expect you to cuddle me or anything, but I want you to be comfortable, so take all the room you need.”

As Harry begins to glide his body closer, making the space that once lied between them to disappear, Louis’ mind swims. Suddenly, Harry’s scent is all Louis can breathe, and it’s intoxicating as it enters into his lungs, and into his blood. Suddenly, Harry’s eyes are only inches away, giant and green, and absorbing Louis in their emerald abyss. Suddenly, Harry’s hands are just ever so slightly touching Louis’, and Louis is absolutely losing his shit.

Thankfully, it doesn’t take long for Harry’s eyes to flutter close, or for the sounds of his soft breaths puffing through his lips to fill the silence in Louis’ room. But no matter what Louis attempts, he cannot shut his own eyes. Whether it’s due to the still unfamiliar presence in his bed, or just a collection of all of the events that occurred today, Louis doesn’t know. However, what he does know, is that every time Harry makes a new noise in his sleep, Louis worries that he’s dying. And that anytime Harry’s body shifts just a bit away from him, Louis finds himself inching closer again. Strange

ê ê ê ê

The next morning, Louis revels in being able to sleep in. Sunday’s are always his laziest day of the week, due to working straight through until Friday, and Saturday’s having to do his physical therapy since Louis still hasn’t fully healed thanks to that fucking scum, Simon Cowell. So Louis lets himself dwell in his sheets, that is, until a light puff of air is blown onto his back, and he absolutely freaks out. Sitting straight up in his bed, Louis turns around abruptly to find a curly head cuddled into the spot where his back had been, and everything that had happened the night before comes rushing back to Louis like a tornado. Of course, how could he forget? Harry.

The younger boy looks like the sleep has done him some good, seeing as there seems to be a bit of color back in his cheeks. Louis finds himself appeased at that thought, but then reminds himself that Harry probably hasn’t eaten in god knows how long, so he quietly shifts from under the covers and heads to the kitchen.

Making his way over, Louis finds that Niall is already searching through the refrigerator while sizzling eggs on a frying pan. As Louis continues to shuffle his feet into the area, Niall turns around at the sound, and greets his morning campanion with a wide smile.

“Mornin’, Louis!”

“Hi, Niall.”

“You hungry?”

“I’m gonna make a cuppa for myself, but I was thinking that Harry might be.”

“Oh right, Harry! If you want, I can make him something?”

“Don’t be daft Niall, I’ve got it.”

“Really, it’s fine. As long as I still make Zayn his cereal, it’s all good.”

Niall doesn’t allow Louis to interject again, as he pulls out more eggs and adds them to the pan. He also grabs a heap load of bacon; which Louis is hoping Harry will even like.

“You’re an idiot, but thanks.”

**Harry**

Light shines brightly through Harry’s eyelids, and though he’s not ready to wake up quite yet, he can’t keep his eyes closed any longer. Last night, Harry slept the best he has in a while, or rather, ever. Not only is Louis’ bed the most comfortable bed he’s ever had the pleasure to lay on, but sleeping next to Louis benefited Harry in a way he didn’t realize it would. He felt safe and protected, and when he closed his eyes, he didn’t fear anything as he drifted off to sleep.

With the morning light brightening the room, and Harry’s eyes fully adjusted, Harry reacquaints himself with the bedroom, scanning around the area until he realizes that Louis’ gone. It is Sunday, so technically he shouldn’t have work, but maybe he’s had something come up and needed to leave. Harry finds a small ounce of himself disappointed in waking up alone, but decides it’s better not to let it settle, and so he gets up out of bed. Before making his way out of the room, Harry busies himself with finding proper clothes to wear. Louis has tons of clothes in his walk-in closet, but many of them are just not long enough, or Harry’s kind of style. Not that he has much of a choice or anything.

“Oh, you’re up. Niall is making you breakfast right now; I hope you like eggs.”

Harry jumps at the voice that calls out to him from behind, and drops the pair of pants he had held in his hands.

“Sorry, erm, I was looking for clothes to wear. And eggs are fine…great, actually.”

Louis smirks, and then walks over to Harry, picking up the pants off the ground.

“I imagine most of my clothes won’t fit you well, but I might have some sweats that should be okay. Tomorrow I have to be at work, but you could take my card to go and buy yourself some things.”

Standing stunned, Harry’s eyebrows shoot up as Louis starts searching for clothes for Harry to wear.

“Are you sure? What if I spend too much?”

Louis loudly chuckles, which startles Harry at first, but then also delights him.

“First off, you couldn’t. And second off, if you managed to spend all my money in one day, I’d be thoroughly impressed. But again, you couldn’t. And I trust you.”

“You hardly know me.”

“And lucky for us, that’s exactly what I had planned for today.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s call it…the ‘get to know Harry Styles’ game, or aka, twenty questions.”

“That doesn’t take all day to do.”

“Well then you’ve certainly never played it right.”

Harry giggles at Louis, finding himself quite enamored by the older boy.

“Alright fine, but does this game also include questions involving a certain Louis Tomlinson, as well? Because I’m not interested if it doesn’t.”

As Harry smiles at the end of his words to show he can be playful too, Louis’ lips turn up into a grin that he quickly starts biting, to contain his smile from growing larger. Harry locks his eyes on how beautiful Louis’ smile is, before Louis finally hands Harry a pair of clothes to change the subject.

“I guess it could, and here you go. I’ll let you change, and you can meet me back out in the kitchen. I’m sure your food will be ready now, so you probably shouldn’t let it get cold.”

Louis walks away briskly, with no chance for Harry to respond. Which works out in his favor anyways, because he’s having trouble maintaining his guard when Louis is unassumingly easy to be around.

ê ê ê ê

Clothes on, eggs consumed, and Harry is itching to start their first round of twenty questions. He’s not entirely sure that he wants to answer all the questions Louis may throw his way, but he definitely hopes to find out more about Louis and who he really is. After Breakfast, Harry eagerly saunters after Louis, who makes his way to the living. Once they are there, they both sit down a bit far from each other, and Harry uses the space to stretch out his legs.

“So Harry, do you want to go first, or shall I?”

“What about the three upstairs? Will they hear us?”

“No, they’re going to be there till dinner time.”

Harry wants to ask about that, but decides he doesn’t want to waste one of his questions on finding it out, so he shuffles the thought aside.

“Okay. You can go first…if you want.”

Louis nods his head, and then clears his throat.

“Do you have a family?”

“Yes! I have my mum, and my sister, Gemma. I know you have your father, is there anyone else in your family?”

“I have me mum, and two younger sisters. Lottie is a make-up artist, always gone for a new job, and Fizzy is still in school. What about you, were you in school?”

“No, erm, I was working. Next question, was there ever anything else you saw yourself doing? Like…instead of working for your father?”

Harry could tell the question hit hard for Louis, at the way his body shudders. He hadn’t planned to upset Louis this early on in the game, and is wondering if he should take back the question, when Louis begins to answer it.

“Well, yeah, I had. I really wanted a career in music. Whether it was being a singer, or just starting up my own record label, I didn’t care. I just wanted to be involved in it, in some way.”

“If you’re that passionate about it, then why aren’t you doing that?”

Louis’ lips twist into a half-hearted smile, and he nods his head in a “I know, I know, but…” kind of way.

“It’s just not that simple. My life was already planned out for me the minute I was born. I was allowed to dabble in whatever hobbies I wanted to as a child, but it was always understood that there was no other career path I would travel, then that of my father’s company.”

“And you never argued it, not once?”

“All the time, actually.”

It’s so apparent on Louis’ face that this is hard for him to talk about, and while Harry wants to press forward and push him about the subject, he also can’t handle the sight of how hurt Louis appears. Like with many other things, Harry’s going to have to momentarily set this aside, and move on.

“Okay, well, it’s your turn again.”

“Right. Favorite color?”

Harry’s favorite color has always been pink, and if anybody else had been asking, he would have supplied that as his answer. But it wasn’t just anybody asking, it was Louis. And as Harry stares into Louis’ beautiful face, and gazes into his unimaginable blue eyes, there’s suddenly no other color that even comes close. Louis’ blue eyes are Harry’s favorite color, and there’s no hint of doubt about that.

“Blue, and yours?”

“Green.”

Blushing, Harry tries to pretend that Louis’ response didn’t affect him quite to the level that it actually had. Thankfully, Louis goes again before Harry feels the weight of attraction too much. It’s scary, really, that it’s hardly been a day and he’s already swooning.

“Place you’d like to someday visit?”

“L.A., you?”

“Los Angeles is alright, but I’d probably say France. I’ve been when I was younger, but I don’t remember it. I’d like to see it again.”

“That’s cool.”

“Yeah, Oh, I have been wondering this since last night, but how do you know Simon Cowell?”

Louis wants honesty, but Harry isn’t ready to be honest about this. This, this is his whole life, and he’d be exposing everything that has been happening to him for the past three years. He can’t…he can’t just let it go.

“My mum works with him.”

And that’s the best he can say while still telling the truth, even if it’s not the whole truth. Trying to ignore his short answer, Harry quickly turns the question back around to Louis.

“How do you know him?”

“Through work, business partnerships and what not. Okay, let’s change the subject. Why did you surrender your freedom?”

 _No, not this question. Not this one. I can’t, I really really can’t answer this. I…it hurts, too much. Fuck._ As thoughts swell throughout Harry’s head, flooding his mind with all the phrases he can think of to avoid answering this, a miracle happens.

“LOUIS!!!!! LOUIS!!!! ZAYN IS HURT!”

Niall comes running down the stairs towards the two boys, and while Harry is worried about Zayn, he can also not believe his luck. The question has been avoided, and hopefully soon forgotten, and Harry is internally screaming with joy. As he’s mentally cheering, Louis’ voice cuts the room, instantly intense.

“What do you mean? What happened?”

“We…well we were all doing stuff, and one of the razors sliced him really bad. He’s bleeding everywhere.”

“Fuck, okay, Niall can we come up?”

“Yes, please hurry!”

Niall starts running off as Louis quickly jumps to follow him, but not without grabbing onto Harry’s hand to lead him along, too. As they chase after Niall up the stairs, sobs can be heard coming from a room up ahead.

**Louis**

_Fuck this. Fuck this. Fuck this._ Just as Louis was about to get a little piece of information into Harry’s mysterious life, Niall had to interrupt. Fuck Zayn, why did he need to get hurt now, of all times? Louis is worried, he is, but he can’t help feeling like he just missed out on a once in a lifetime opportunity. And Louis is certainly going to hold a grudge over this, for as long as he wants.

When Louis enters the room, he let’s go of Harry’s hand and rushes right up to Zayn, who is in his bed with his right arm held out. There’s a significant cut that seems to be bleeding out everywhere, and if Louis wasn’t doped up on adrenaline right now, he’d probably faint at the sight.

“Okay Zayn, I’m calling 911. You need to be treated, this could be really bad.”

“No!”

“Why?”

“I hate hospitals.”

“Then don’t do fucking dangerous shit to get yourself hurt.”

Zayn stares at Louis annoyed, but Louis ignores him, and dials for help regardless. It doesn’t take more than ten minutes when an ambulance can be heard, and people are rushing through the front doors to check on Zayn. He tries to argue that he’s alright, but they inform him he is definitely not, and will most likely need stitches. While all of this is happening, and while Louis is speaking with the paramedics, Louis quickly looks over to find Harry, Niall, and Liam, huddled together and talking. Louis’ not sure what Harry is saying, but it seems to be calming the other two down, and Louis is once again, fascinated. Even though their conversation was interrupted earlier, one day he hopes, he’ll finally know who is this captivating Harry Styles.

ê ê ê ê

“He needed some stitches, as I’m sure you can see, and they’ll need a few weeks to heal. Let’s schedule an appointment for you to follow up, two weeks from now. We can check on how they’re healing and go from there.”

The doctor is talking to Zayn and Louis, and Louis could not be less amused. He wants to be back with Harry, however, it was best that the three other boys stay at home. Niall doesn’t do well in hospitals, and Liam doesn’t do well under stress. This way too, Harry can have some time to get to know the other two boys, which Louis had been wanting to happen soon enough anyways. But this, this is not how he wanted it to happen, and all he wants to do is get Zayn in the car, and back on the road, now.

“Okay, sounds great.”

Louis shakes the doctor’s hand, since he seemed to be talking to Louis more directly than Zayn, and then sighs loudly once the doctor has left and closed the door. Zayn looks irritated as well, but Louis knows it’s for other reasons. Which somehow, pisses Louis off more.

“You bloody ruined it!”

Louis doesn’t mean to snap, but the anger he’s been caging finally releases, and he’s been dying to point the blame all night.

“What are you on about? I ruined nothing!”

“Yes…you did. You ruined my chance at getting to know Harry more. He was literally about to tell me why he surrendered himself, and you bloody had to cut yourself!”

“He surrendered himself? Really?”

“Yes, well that was what I was going to figure out until you ruined it, you twat!”

Zayn’s expression seems more regretful now, taking his eyes away from Louis, and staring out into the room.

“I’m sorry, boo bear.”

“None of that! And besides, you really need to stop with whatever this kink you’ve got going on is. The last time you tried this shit you almost cut off Niall’s finger!”

“I know, it’s dangerous. I won’t do it again.”

The solemn expression remains on Zayn’s face, and Louis’ can’t help but feel awful for being aggressive towards him. They rarely argue, and Zayn always harbors feelings for a long time before ever telling someone how he feels. Louis’ sure Zayn will continue to feel upset over this for a lot longer than will be necessary, and he can’t stand the thought of his best mate being sad, so he pulls him into a hug to ease the tension.

“I just worry, you bloody idiot.”

Zayn’s fingers tighten into Louis’ back, and he knows he’s at least going to be okay for now. Tomorrow though, is always a different day.

**Harry**

“So tell me, Harry…what’s like, your impression of Louis so far?”

Niall is in the kitchen making the three of them a pot of soup, when he asks Harry the question bluntly. Louis and Zayn have been gone for four hours now, and they haven’t heard a word. The boys decided that they might as well eat as they wait, thus, Niall making them soup. When harry hears the question, he looks up to find Niall grinning from ear to ear, and Liam looking on curiously.

“Erm…well I was scared at first, cause like, he was a complete stranger. And it’s only been less than 24 hours, but I think he’s really beautiful, yeah?”

It’s startlingly how excited Niall seems over Harry’s confession, but Liam responds to Harry before Harry has a chance to question it.

“Yeah, when I first met Zayn, I was nervous as hell, and then I got to know him more. Louis’ always been really nice to us, and he’s always hated the thought of ‘subordinates,’ so you can imagine how shocked we were when he brought you home last night.”

“Hated the thought, you say?”

Niall perks up, talking loudly back to Harry.

“Yeah! He refuses to like, follow any of Zayn’s rules, and always talks to us by our names, and gives us things all the time, even though Zayn tells him not to.”

“Do you guys not like the way Zayn treats you?”

Niall continues back with Harry.

“Oh god no! He’s great to us! I mean we do have stuff he wants us to follow, and like expectations he has of us, but it could be much worse.”

Thinking of things being worse brings Harry to the thought of nearly being with Simon, and so yeah, he knows…things truly could be far worse.

“Can I ask you both a question? Is this kind of a Dom/Sub relationship? Like, I’m not sure what Louis and I should be doing, or what I should be doing, for that matter.”

Niall turns to Liam, and Liam smiles warmly before answering.

“No, not really. Honestly, it could be anything that your ‘owner’ wants. He may just want you to clean the house, take after the kids, walk the dogs…or he could want a strictly sexual relationship with you. Some people like a companion, and find it easier than having to go out and look for someone to marry. Some people just want another person in their house, typically lonely older men who have no one left to live with. There are of course those, that only see us as animals, and treat us that way, but…”

“But?”

“Sometimes they get what they deserve, and get arrested, and sometimes they don’t. It’s not a fair world for us Harry, just keep that in mind, and us three got it better than most.”

 _It’s true though, isn’t it?_ Harry ponders to himself. Many of those that were in line with Harry, were sold off to older, seemingly angrier, men. Most of them, will be treated like slaves. Most of them, will have their freedom held tightly over them like a noose, one end wrapped firmly around their neck, while the other end is held tightly in their owner’s hand. For those, it’s a waiting game, waiting till the floor drops open and they are strangled to death, or their noose is loosened and they are let go. But either way, there rarely is a happy end.

For Niall, Liam, and Harry though, they don’t have to sleep without a bed, or be afraid of what’s to come if they make a slight mistake. They are safe, and while Harry’s heart goes out to all those that are suffering and hidden away, he also can’t help but to recognize that he’s in a good place. For the first time in years, Harry’s actually protected from the demons that wait for him on the other side of the glass door. Albeit it’s a fragile barrier, but it’s there, and that’s more than Harry’s had in a long, long time.

ê ê ê ê

After dinner, Harry cleaned off the dishes and counters while Niall and Liam went back to their room. They were exhausted, and wanted some alone time, which Harry fully understood. He was still an outsider to them. With them upstairs, Harry makes his way back into Louis’ room, and peers out of the large glass windows. What Harry hadn’t realized last night that he can see now as the sun begins to descent, is that Louis has a back deck.

When Harry was younger, he always would leave his house and just go for a walk. The first time he up and left was when he was seven; he told his mum he had really needed fresh air, and the next thing he knew he was a mile away from his house, and lost. But as Harry got older, the streets became imprinted into his memory, and no matter how hard he would try, he could not get lost again. And back then, he wanted to be… terribly.

It’s been a while since Harry has gone outside and walked endlessly into the unknown, but with the orange sunlight glistening above the treetops, and the forest whispering to Harry, he can’t say no. Pushing open a glass door that almost flawlessly blends in with the glass walls, Harry steps outside. Within the first ten steps Harry is off the deck, his bare feet pressing into the ground, he feels alive.

The feeling of renewed freedom fills Harry’s lungs up like helium, and he inhales the fresh air in gulps. Each step he feels the leaves and vines crumple beneath him, each step he feels mother nature plant her arms firmer around him. The butterflies dance around his head, the squirrels play around his feet. He’s losing himself in the scenery, losing himself to the feeling that takes a hold. And not once, as the pull to enter the natural oasis latches tightly onto him, pulling him further and further into its domain, does he look back. Not once, as his body is reeled in, does he recall a face, or a name. Not once does he falter. The minute he’s freed himself to the forest, the entity that is Louis Tomlinson, might as well not even exist.

**Louis**

“Harry?”

Louis runs into his room, hoping to find the younger boy lying on his bed, or sitting on his couch. What he doesn’t expect when he enters inside, is to not find the boy at all. Louis checks the closets, his bathroom, under his bed, the kitchen, the living room, the guest bedroom and bathroom, and still, he cannot be found.  _Maybe he’s upstairs,_ he decides quietly, and makes his way up the stairs to where Zayn and the other two boys are cuddled together.

“Is Harry with you, lads?”

The other three all look at each other nervously before Niall responds back.

“No, Louis. We saw him go into your room after dinner, that had to be at least an hour ago.”

“So you haven’t seen him in over an hour?”

Liam stands up from the bed as he interjects.

“No, why, is something wrong?”

“Clearly… I can’t find him.”

Louis doesn’t mean to give them attitude, but he’s definitely freaking out, and he’s not sure how else to handle it but to get combative. Zayn comments this time, already identifying that this isn’t going to end well.

“Louis, let’s breathe. Was there anything out of the ordinary when you looked around? Like, a clue as to maybe where he went? Does he have a phone you can reach him at?”

“I…I didn’t give him one, so no phone. And I don’t know, maybe I should check around again.”

“Yes, check around again. If you want, I can have Liam and Niall help you, too.”

“No, not right now. Let me check before I make things a bigger issue than they are. I’m sure he’s here somewhere.”

The words Louis is spilling from his mouth are more to reassure himself, than the others. He’s trying to convince himself there is nothing to worry over. He’s trying to convince himself that Harry is here. But Louis can’t argue facts, the boy isn’t in this house, so where else could he be?

ê ê ê ê

Searching through the house again, Louis looks more thoroughly throughout each room. Checking under cushions, peering under books. He’s just looking for anything that might be out of place, that might help suggest where Harry has run off too.  _God, I can’t believe he’s run away. I shouldn’t have even bought him, I should be giving him his freedom back. He probably hates being here. He probably hates me…_ It strikes Louis very oddly, once he realizes that he’s actually caring about how Harry perceives him. He’s never, in the history of his entire existence, cared what anyone has thought about him. And yet, here is, having taken in a boy for less than 24 hours, and he’s genuinely concerned. Which in it of itself, is a miracle.

It doesn’t take long for Louis to finished checking every nook and cranny, still not finding a hint. Deterred, he goes back to his room and lies on his bed.  _I should just let him go. I should just let him be._ As Louis sits on his bed, residing in the thoughts that are invading his mind, he feels a strong chill enter the room, that tugs him back from his conscious. Standing up curiously, Louis looks around to find his back door left slightly ajar, and without another thought, begins walking towards the opening that leads to outside.  _Fuck._

Louis thrusts the door open, ready to run miles and miles into the woods to search for the younger boy, but after he’s run out onto the deck in a bolt of energy, he abruptly halts his advances. There, sitting on the deck stairs, and peering out into the trees, is Harry.

“Harry?”

It’s dark outside, and with the sun’s warmth no longer around, the air is cold enough to maintain goosebumps on Louis’ skin. Instantly, he’s afraid that Harry is suffering from being out in this temperature too long, but getting a clearer look at him, Louis finds that Harry doesn’t seem to be out of sorts, or sickly. He just looks really…alone.

With Louis walking closer, Harry turns his face just enough to get a glance at Louis, before turning back to the scenery before him. Louis finishes the remaining steps and sits down next to Harry, unsure of what words could be appropriate to say right now.

“I thought you had run off.”

Well, that wasn’t what he had in mind. It comes out like word vomit, Louis hadn’t wanted to mention that he’d been running around the house looking for him, but then there’s also a small part of him that does want Harry to know that he made him worry. That he should own up to what he’s done to Louis. Harry keeps his eyes forward after Louis’ comment, but his deep, sultry voice does respond back.

“I saw you had a balcony, and I just…I just needed to walk for a bit.”

“Anything you want to talk about?”

“Not really.”

Louis shouldn’t be upset, but in the back of his mind he can’t help the reoccurring thoughts from earlier, take a hold in the forefront of his brain.

“You know, if you ran away, I would…I would understand.”

This time, Louis knows what he’s said has reached Harry to some deeper level, because he’s turned his attention to him, and his green eyes stare in shock. Louis waits a few moments for him to reply, but then decides to add on with what he had been saying.

“I just, I know you must feel like you’re stuck here now, or that you’ve lost all your freedom, but don’t, please don’t think that way. If there’s ever a time you want to go and visit family, or take a few days to yourself, just tell me. I’d be more than happy to make all the arrangements.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. Yes, I am.”

“To be honest, I don’t really know what I’m feeling right now, but it doesn’t have anything to do with you, or being here.”

“Well, when you’re ready to talk to me about it, I’ll be here.”

Harry’s lips turn into a smile, but it’s vulnerable, and unsure, and cautious. And as Louis extends his hand out to help Harry stand up, and bring him inside, Louis finds that Harry remains guarded for the rest of the night. They’re lying together in bed, but they might as well be worlds apart, divided by oceans of sheets that flood the space between them. Louis wants to reach out, he wants to comfort him in some way, but tonight, there’s nothing he can do that can reach the miles and miles it’ll take to Harry. So instead, he closes his eyes and goes to sleep, forgetting for a moment about the boy with somber eyes and a broken heart.

**Harry**

There’s a shuffling of sheets coming from the opposite side of the bed, and while Harry is sure it’s still the middle of the night, he wakes up immediately. When he looks around, he finds that the room is drenched in darkness, but Louis is already making his way to the bathroom. On his way there, Louis stops and grabs a hold onto the waistband of his boxers, and he’s just about strip them off, when he turns and notices Harry is up.

“Holy shit Harry, you scared me!”

“Sorry, you woke me up.”

Louis presses his left hand against his heart, trying to calm himself down, as Harry sits up in the bed.

“Yeah, it’s Monday, I have to get ready for work. I was trying not to make too much noise.”

“’s okay. What do you want me to do today?”

Harry can tell that Louis hadn’t thought this over, as his eyebrows scrunch together, contemplating what he wants from Harry.

“Honestly, I have no idea. Let me think about it while I shower, and I’ll give you my answer when I get out.”

“Okay.”

ê ê ê ê

Louis had gotten out of the shower twenty minutes ago, done his hair, dressed himself, and he still has not answered Harry’s question. So in the meantime, Harry too has been getting ready, in case Louis sends him out for anything.

“Okay, I’ve got it! Why don’t you go to work with me?”

“Work?”

“Yes.”

“Can I tell you how I feel about that?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Well then, I’d rather not. It’s just… I don’t even really know what you want from me, with anything. And…well, I just don’t find the idea all that appealing. I’d much rather go grocery shopping or something.”

“You know what, you’re right. We haven’t talked about any expectations that I, or you, might have. Plus, if I brought you to work with me, I’d be throwing you to the wolves. Sorry. How about you go grocery shopping? I’ll have Damien, my driver, take you wherever you want. Here is my card, so that you can finally buy anything you need. Tomorrow after work, I’m going to take you shopping so that we can buy you more clothes. And tonight, when I get back from work, we can talk about everything else that needs to be covered.”

“Are you…are you sure?”

“Yes, have fun. If there’s anywhere you want to stop, don’t hesitate to tell Damien that. You have a whole day to yourself, so enjoy it.”

Louis smiles and Harry’s properly enamored. It’s unreal how lucky Harry is to have been taken in by Louis Tomlinson. Not only is he well off, but understanding and kind, and every time Louis says something, it ricochets like lightening in Harry’s heart. How can anyone be like this?

“Thank you.”

“No, Harry, thank you. Thank you for being honest with me.”

Before Harry has a chance to interject, to admit he hasn’t been whole-heartedly honest, to tell him that there’s a pool so deep of memories he’s been trying to cover up, Louis leaves. Harry wants to tell him, he wants to tell him everything, but that’s just not in his nature to do so. Instead, he’ll keep it bottled inside like everything else, until someday when it’ll all explode. Hopefully Louis won’t be around then to see it, Harry notes.

**Louis**

“Mr. Tomlinson, your father is here to speak with you.”

“Thank you, Eleanor, you may send him in.”

As Louis lays the phone back down, his office door is opened by Eleanor, with his father following smugly behind. She nods at Louis, before closing the door and leaving the two of them alone. Louis’ father sits down in the chair opposite Louis’ desk, and it doesn’t take ten seconds before he’s started speaking.

“Son, how has your subordinate been treating you?”

Louis knew this was going to be asked before the question had even formed in his father’s mouth. It’s unsettling, because his father is observing ever move, and Louis nearly, almost smiles at the mention of Harry. But instead, Louis refrains, and comes across as indifferent about said Harry Styles, even though that is quite far from the truth. Louis hasn’t for a single second, ever felt indifferent about the younger boy, not even when he first laid eyes on him.

“He’s treating me well, father. I’ll have him shaped up in no time.”

“You plan on bringing him out publicly?”

“That seems to be the goal.”

“Good luck, some are never trained enough for such a privilege.”

It takes all of Louis’ willpower to bite his tongue, but finally Louis manages to smile through gritted teeth.

“Yes, that does seem so. I think mine will be more than ready, he’s already shown great potential.”

His father’s expression is judgmental, but it doesn’t longer long.

“Glad to hear that. Also, there’s another reason I came here today. I wanted to discuss the matters on Simon Cowell.”

This time, Louis truly has a smile on his face.

“Yes, why don’t we talk about our good friend, Mr. Cowell?”

ê ê ê ê

Returning home from work, Louis was mentally exhausted. Besides a mountains worth of paperwork that needed to get sorted and filed, he had to approve a number of business inquires, and discuss future plans with potential clients. Once his car has entered on the driveway, and Louis puts it in park, he finds that he can’t even come up with any energy or excitement for seeing Harry. Which is disheartening because truly, he’s been thinking about him all day.

“I’m home!”

Louis yells out to whoever is listening, but doesn’t wait to hear a reply as he makes his way to his bedroom. Stepping inside, it seems that his bed has been made, along with some of his clothes being put away or placed in the hamper. It really is a small gesture, yet it pleases him more than he’d like to admit.

“I had a lot of time on my hands.”

Louis turns around, moving after the sound of Harry’s voice coming from behind him at the doorway.

“You didn’t have to.”

Harry smiles fondly at that.

“I know, but I wanted to.”

And honestly, how can Louis argue when it’s coming from the prettiest boy he’s ever seen?

ê ê ê ê

“You’re making me dinner?”

“Yes! I made sure that when I went out to buy food earlier, that I bought everything I needed to cook tonight. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all, I’m actually quite interested in what you’re going to make.”

Louis is standing in the kitchen with Harry, who already has the stove ablaze with random, but delicious smelling ingredients.

“Nope! You can’t be in here while I’m doing this. It’s going to be a surprise.”

“I hate surprises.”

“Well then, you’re missing out.”

It’s very strange that Harry defies Louis. It’s something no one has ever done to him before. His family, his friends, his coworkers, have never once dared to argue back. As Harry stands his ground in front of Louis, pointing in a direction away from where he is, Louis is mesmerized. He never thought being told off would be so refreshing, so…invigorating.

“You’re really going to make me leave?”

Harry’s lips quirk up into this obscenely cocky smile that Louis has never seen before, and very well might frame in his memory forever.

“By any means necessary.”

And oh…that’s a thought Louis would like to rest on. But he doesn’t, he can’t. Instead, he tries to avoid the thoughts that shove their way into his brain, and despite being so sure he wouldn’t let any of them show, he’s unable to contain the grin that stretches on his face, or the laugh that escapes his lips. Even Harry seems a little taken aback at the noise.

“Fine, I surrender. Just call me when you’re ready to have me. I’ll be in my study.”

“Deal.”

A little disappointed, but a lot amused, Louis walks to the other room, making sure his footsteps are audible enough to be heard from kitchen. When he’s about to go into the study, he places his hand on the door knob, but then stalls. He really doesn’t want to go to his study, or his bedroom, or the living room. In fact, he thinks it would be a lot more fun sticking around and spying on Harry, than it would be to do anything else. But of course, that’s just a joke. He would never actually do something like that. He could never actually do something so childish.

And yet…somehow, the minute the thought occurs to Louis, he’s already eager to do it. But the argument between his inner child and his inner adult, rages on. His inner child obviously would enjoy a little amusement, but his adult self thinks that it’s immature, and ridiculous. And well, typically Louis would have to agree, but not tonight. Gladly, he tells a big ‘fuck you’ to his inner self that disagrees, and then thinks that if anybody had been around to witness this they would think he’s gone mad. Luckily, however, it’s silent, so he holds his breath, and starts tiptoeing back to the kitchen.

Peering in, Louis watches as Harry is humming to himself while swaying his hips, as he stirs some food on a pan. Louis has to force his hand on his mouth, to keep himself from chuckling at the incredibly cute way he dances. At different points, Harry’s humming streams into actual singing, and Louis’ heart pounds at the deep melody that pours out. It’s all so innocent and pure, and Louis can’t believe that he almost missed out on watching this.

He really shouldn’t have, but Louis ends up watching Harry for another twenty minutes, before Harry finally yells out his name. Louis waits a couple seconds first, before walking in, trying to act completely normal. As soon as he enters, Harry’s already talking animatedly to him.

“Sorry it took a bit longer than I expected! Hope you like it.”

Louis goes over to the kitchen table where Harry has everything set up. It’s wonderful, which is an odd thing to say but really, it’s wonderful. Everything smells amazing, though he knew that already since the whole time he was spying he could smell it, but it also looks just as good as it smells. As Louis stands to take it all in, he notices Harry watching him out of the corner of his eye, seeming a bit nervous.

“Harry, this looks absolutely amazing.”

It’s clear this was the reassurance Harry was looking for, because immediately he’s beaming. And it’s not just a wide, crooked grin, no. It’s unimaginable bright, so much so that Louis can’t even look for too long without feeling bits of the cold in his soul melt away.

“Really? You’re not just saying that?”

“Not at all! But let’s sit and eat, and then I can tell you what I really think of it.”

Louis gives a playful smile, and Harry just about explodes. It’s really preplexing to Louis, because he’s pretty sure he’s going to combust in a million pieces if Harry keeps grinning this way, or staring at him like that. Like…like.... like Louis is his whole reason for happiness…yeah, that’s the look. That’s the look that’s going to kill Louis one of these days, he’s sure of it.

**Harry**

So maybe Harry’s a bit enchanted. Or taken. Or fond…of Louis. And maybe Harry shuffles his body a little closer in bed when they finally head to sleep. And maybe Harry wakes up in the middle of the night, just to remind himself of how wonderful Louis smells. And maybe…maybe Harry wakes up extra early in the morning to take care of a little situation, that is totally the cause of this one, such Louis.

When Louis does wake up, Harry has eggs already cooking for him, and right as Louis gets out of the shower, Harry brings them to him in his room. When Louis sees what Harry’s done, he looks at Harry with something a little different in his expression, and suddenly Harry wants to do whatever it is that he did, over and over and over again. It’s not a tremendous change in his expression, but it’s enough to make Harry feel like he’s done something right, and that, well that just feels really great.

ê ê ê ê

“Hiya, Harry!”

Sitting on the couch while watching TV, Harry turns his attention to the voice coming from the stairs.

“Hey, Liam. Where’s Niall?”

“Shower. Thought I’d come down and talk to you for a bit.”

Liam plops down next to Harry on the couch, positioning himself so that his body is facing Harry.

“Thanks. Yeah, it’s pretty lonely once Louis is gone, and I honestly hate watching TV.”

“I know what you mean. Whenever Zayn leaves, Niall and I don’t have much else to do. There’s tons of books in the study if you feel like reading, but obviously us two are here bored as well, so you’re more than welcome to come and hang out with us.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah! Anytime! Some days we go out, but Zayn’s not big on us going out in public without him.”

“Do you like Zayn? Like, are you happy you’re with him?”

“I love Zayn.”

Now that…that takes Harry by surprise. Like way out of left field. Love? Do people love their owners? Is that honestly a thing that could happen? Is that honestly a thing that does happen?

“Really?”

“I know you don’t know us all very well yet, but yes. I was eighteen when Zayn bought me, and I’ve loved him ever since. He may not seem like it, but he has a huge heart. He’s done a lot for me and Niall that I could never repay him for.”

“That’s really great, though. I don’t think many people have that.”

“No, I know. And Louis…he’s great too.”

“Yeah, he is.”

Staring at Harry, Liam appears to be searching for something in the way Harry says his words, or maybe in the way Harry looks. But Harry can’t figure out what, and after a couple seconds have passed, Liam directs his gaze at the TV before speaking again.

“If you feel anything for Louis, don’t let yourself think that it’s wrong. I did that for a long time. I dismissed my feelings because I said there was no way I could truly love someone who paid money to own me. But life isn’t black and white, and often times, things aren’t what they appear.”

“I don’t…”

“I’m not saying you do. I’m just implying that if it ever does happen, don’t shut it out.”

 _It’s quite strange though, isn’t it? Loving someone who literally bought your freedom._ Harry doesn’t respond back, not sure what even could be said in response. He doesn’t love Louis. I mean, he’s only been here for two days, how could he love him? Does he get a little excited at the thought of seeing him? Sure. Has he started to feel extra jittery when Louis comes close to him? Yes. But, that doesn’t mean he loves him.

As Liam watches the TV, Harry continues to keep thinking about this. And even once Niall comes down and jokes around with them, making lunch, and then settling back on the couch so they all can watch a movie, the thought never falters. Because…because yeah, Harry doesn’t love Louis now…but…one day he could. One day, weeks from now, he could look at Louis and it all makes sense. And maybe Harry has already started doing that. Maybe Harry is already on his way to loving Louis, and that…absolutely fucking frightens him. And when Louis comes home later in the day, and gives Harry this smile like he’s been waiting all day to see him again, well that just fucks everything up, because no. Harry doesn’t have any pieces of his broken heart left to give away. Not a single shard.

**Louis**

“I know this might not be necessary, but I had a copy of the house key made for you. Also, I bought you a phone.”

“What?”

  
Harry sits up in bed, and Louis chuckles a little at his confused, yet awfully adorable sleepy expression. His eyes are barely open, his curls are strewn about, he looks beautiful and Louis tries his very best to ignore it.

“Well, you need a key in case you go out again without me, of if no one is here when you return. And a phone just makes sense. I don’t like not being able to communicate with you while I’m at the office, and this way too, you can contact anyone you haven’t been able to reach in a while.”

“Are you saying I can talk to my family?”

“Yes.”

Truthfully, Louis bought the phone for selfish reasons. For one, he wants to be able to talk to Harry when he’s at work, and texting is easier to do than trying to call in between meetings. Also…well, after Louis not being able to find Harry the other night, Louis made sure to buy a phone that has a tracker set up. That way, Harry can always be found as long as he takes the phone with him and all, but it’s better than having nothing.

What Louis had never considered when purchasing this phone, was that it was giving Harry access to communicate with people he hasn’t spoken to in at least a few weeks. For one, his family. Who Louis would still like to know more about. But then, who else? Who else will Harry try to speak to? Who else will Harry try to meet up with behind Louis’ back, or talk to when Louis’ asleep? But despite the thoughts that are making Louis regret his decision, Harry is looking at Louis like he’s been given this huge gift, and well, well it’s pretty worthwhile. Even if Harry abuses it, Louis can’t regret making Harry this happy.

“Lou, I…I don’t…I don’t know what to say.”

_Lou. He called me Lou._

“Please, it’s the least I could do.”

“Thank you.”

And yeah, it really stirs something in Louis the way Harry says ‘thank you,’ slow and meaningful, dripping off his tongue like syrup, and lingering in the air between them long after the echo of his voice has been heard. It really stirs something indeed.

ê ê ê ê

**I’m in a meeting right now, but wanted to see how the phone is working for you.**

Louis could give two shits about this meeting, honestly. Texting Harry is a far better way to waste his time while his boring coworkers drone on about unimportant statistics and information. There is no happiness to be had staring at a pie chart, no matter how colorful they make it. It still sucks. And this meeting sucks. And yeah, Louis just wants Harry to respond already.

**_It’s great! Thank u again! .xx_ **

Louis’ cheeks flush, and thankfully, no one notices.

**We need to get you clothes today. Can’t keep borrowing mine. Will you be ready to go out when I get back? I’ll buy you dinner, as well.**

**_I can be ready!_ **

**Great.**

Louis wants to say more. Why is he so business-like in these messages? He doesn’t want Harry to think he’s a boring shit like the rest of the people he works with. Louis types out another message, and it takes him ten seconds before he finds enough courage to send it.  _Oh fuck it._

**Can’t wait to see you later.**

Sent.

**_Me too! :) :)_ **

Dead. Dead. Dead. The text glows in front of Louis’ eyes and he can’t help but picture Harry on the other side, texting back to him, looking cute and curly, and wonderful. God, why is Harry so beautiful? Why did Louis do this to himself? It’s like Louis had told the world for so long that nothing had interested him, so they created this being, and threw him in Louis’ line of sight, saying said ‘Oh yeah? Well here’s the most captivating person in the world, now what?’ Louis should truly bite his tongue more often.

“Mr. Tomlinson?”

Shooting his head up so fast he almost breaks his neck, he looks up to find everyone staring at him.

“Yes?”

“Do you agree, Mr. Tomlinson?”

The man running the meeting, glares at Louis through his thick-rimmed glasses. He did it on purpose, Louis is sure of it. Putting Louis on the spot because he caught him looking away.

“You know what, Ben? I think you’re quite capable enough to handle this one on your own. Why don’t you go ahead with the plans, and show me what you’ve come up with next week?”

There’s a devilish smirk that grows on Louis’ face as he watches Ben scowl. Louis is mentally high-fiving himself, while also flipping off Ben.  _Fuck you for thinking you could make me look stupid._ Ben nods his head after he’s gathered himself back together, and everyone begins to leave the meeting room. Louis, however, lags behind the last person that has walked out, walking slowly, but confidently, up to Ben. All the while grinning menacingly at his target.

“Ben, just a quick word.”

Ben’s mouth twitches nervously, Louis’ glad he knows what’s coming.

“Just so you know, if you ever, ever, do that to me again, I will fire you on the spot. And any future employer who even thinks about hiring you, I’ll be sure to inform them that you spent all day at your desk jacking off to pictures of cats. Do I make myself clear?”

“Ye...yes.”

“Good. Glad we’re on the same page.”

Louis smiles as bright as he possibly can, and walks out of the office feeling on top of the world. No…untouchable.

ê ê ê ê

“Do you think we can have him measured? I want to make sure his pants fit nice and snug.”

Louis discusses with a woman working at his favorite clothing store, about making sure that the clothes he buys for Harry will fit his freakishly long torso and legs.

“Lou, you don’t have to.”

“I want to. You need clothes, and this place is the best.”

The woman nods and says ‘yes,’ before leaving them to shop around.

“Don’t hold back, Harry. I want you to get whatever looks nice to you.”

“I can get anything? There’s nothing you want me to be wearing specifically?”

It’s odd at first coming out of Harry’s mouth, but then Louis has to remind himself that technically, Harry is his…whatever, and that he probably should be telling Harry what to do more often.

“Harry, I don’t want you to hold back. Get anything and everything that you want. I’m serious.”

Harry’s face lights up, and he grins so wide his dimples look like caves on his face that Louis would very much like to reside in. Okay, that’s weird even for him, but jeez. Harry is sunshine, absolute, bright, sunshine, and his warmth is infectious. It’s even causing Louis to giggle as he watches on adoringly, while Harry picks out clothes.

**Harry**

Louis bought him five tight fitted jeans, five plaid long sleeve shirts, five white plain t-shirts, five black plain t-shirts, black and brown ankle boots, and even a headband to hold back his curls. Harry can’t even say ‘thank you’ enough to honestly compensate for how much Louis has done. And then to top it all off, Louis took Harry to this really cool, bohemian restaurant that had live music playing.

Which really, Harry needs to learn not to point at a place and ask about it, since it was obvious Louis felt like a fish out of water there. Yet Louis took them there anyways, all because Harry asked about. And that…that makes Harry just melt.

ê ê ê ê

It’s been one week. One week since Harry had gone home with a stranger. One week since Harry narrowly avoided Simon and was bought out by Louis Tomlinson. One week, since Harry had officially lost his freedom. But it’s the other anniversary that has Harry waking up in the middle of the night with cold sweats. It’s two weeks, two dreadfully long weeks, since Harry said goodbye to his family.

Louis doesn’t stir as Harry jumps out of bed, which he’s very thankful for, because if Louis realized that Harry was upset he’d probably try and ask why. And no…Harry doesn’t want to tell him why. So Harry walks quietly out of the room and into the kitchen to get a cup of water. As he’s in there, pouring himself a glass, Harry feels the weight of the cellphone Louis bought him like an anchor. In the few days he’s had it, he’s dialed the number to call home, but hasn’t been able to go through with pressing ‘call.’ What would he say? What would they say? It’d be a disaster waiting to happen, and Harry has never been good with knowing his family is upset. Plus, then he’d want to see them, and then he’d want to do all of these things, and really, he can’t. Even if Louis said he could, he can’t. That’s just how that is. That’s how this is going to work.

Drinking two full glasses of water, Harry starts to put the cup away in the dishwasher when he hears footsteps coming towards him.

“It’s a bit late to be up.”

Zayn is covered in paint, and looks way more exhausted than Harry feels.

“Yeah, couldn’t sleep. You?”

“Painting. Get my best work done at night.”

“Yeah? That’s cool. You sell your art at any galleries or shows?”

Walking past Harry and towards the refrigerator, Zayn pulls out a bottle of beer.

“Sometimes. Mostly do it for me. Get my feelings out.”

“I could use something like that.”

The comment makes Zayn look at Harry curiously.

“Everything alright?”

Does he tell him? Does Harry give Zayn even a small detail just to help release the immense pressure that has clearly built up inside of him? He knows he needs to let some of it go, but he’s never let anyone in. He’s never let anyone know anything, and so this is a big deal for him. He doesn’t just open up because someone asks him too. It’s never been in his nature.

“Yeah, just some bad dreams, ‘s all.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

“No worries, mate. I’m gonna get back to sleep, but enjoy the rest of your night.”

Zayn nods to Harry as Harry walks back towards the bedroom, and once again, Harry doesn’t let anything out. But honestly, who was he kidding to even think that he would?

ê ê ê ê

**_Saw Zayn last night, said he was painting_ **

It’s Monday again, and Harry is sitting upstairs with Niall and Liam playing a game of Scrabble, when he decides he wants to text Louis.

**Yeah? He does that a lot**

**_Is that what he does for a living?_ **

**Yep! Bloody brilliant he is too, don’t let him fool you! He has a huge fan base that goes crazy every time he sells his work.**

**_Wow! That’s cool. How’s work btw?_ **

**Boring. You feel like going out tonight? Dinner and a movie?**

**_Are you taking me out on a date?_ **

**If that’s what you want to call it, then sure :)**

**_Okay!! :) .xx_ **

“Harry? Your turn buddy.”

Bringing Harry back to the game, Harry chuckles, and then puts his phone away.

“Sorry, Liam.”

ê ê ê ê

Dinner was incredible. Louis took Harry to this place that had amazing pizza, and Harry actually was annoyed when he couldn’t eat anymore. Even Louis had managed to take down about eight slices all by himself, so why couldn’t Harry do the same? After dinner, they walked down a couple streets over to where the movie theatre was, and Louis had tickets already pre-ordered for the show. Of course. Now they’re halfway through this movie, and at some point Louis’ arm brushes up against Harry’s, and it stays there for a good twenty minutes, all the while, Harry tries to do his best not to move.

“Harry?”

When Louis whispers to Harry, Harry turns his head and gazes at him, taking in the way that Louis’ face is lit up by the lights coming off the movie screen.

“Hmm?”

“You’ve got a piece of popcorn in your hair.”

Harry tries to be embarrassed but seconds after Louis informs him, he extends his fingers out, and delicately pulls the piece from Harry’s curls. The feeling, for the split second that it happens, feels absolutely mind-blowing. Though Louis eventually turns his attention back to the screen, Harry spends the rest of the movie thinking of ways he can dump the whole thing of popcorn on his head, and convince Louis he needs help pulling each and every piece out. In short, he’s going crazy.

**Louis**

“I have to go away for two weeks.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, sending me over to New York to talk to some representatives we have over there. If there’s any chance I can have this trip shortened I will try and let you know.”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to worry about me.”

Harry is sitting on the bed while Louis has just come out of the shower, pulling his clothes on. A huge part of him wants to stay undressed and see what Harry does about that, but….well that’s just a thought.

“I always worry about you, Curly.”

The nickname slips out quick, and Harry’s cheeks burn red. Louis tries to pretend it isn’t as big of a deal as it is, by talking again.

“I’m leaving tomorrow, but I want you to know that you’re free to go wherever you like, as long as Damien takes you. And you need to keep your phone on you in case I need to get in touch with you.”

“Anything else?”

“Just, don’t have too much fun without me.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

This would be a good time to kiss Harry. Instead, Louis pinches himself until he can’t focus on anything other than the pain. Good alternative.

ê ê ê ê

“Mr. Tomlinson and Ms. Calder, it’s so great to see you both again.”

Eleanor shakes the woman’s hand first, as Louis greets back with all the charm in the world.

“Please Melissa, Louis and Eleanor is just fine. And yes, I’ve been looking forward to this trip very much. How have you been?”

Melissa giggles, and Louis wishes he wasn’t so good at being fake. At pretending to care, or be even remotely allured.

“Oh so great, Louis. I’ve been great. Why don’t you both step into my office and we can go over the itinerary for the next two weeks. We have it all planned for you, and we just want to make sure you’re as prepared as possible.”

“Sounds wonderful. After you, ladies.”

Louis would like to be anywhere but here right now. No, wait… that’s a lie. Louis would like to be with Harry right now. For sure, one hundred percent, no question. He wants to be with Harry, and he hasn’t even been gone for ten hours.

ê ê ê ê

Three days pass of Louis’ trip before he’s had a minute to call home. Harry has texted him a few times, but Louis was unable to respond. To say he feels like shit would be an understatement. Luckily, Louis has a one-hour window of time today where he is free to call Harry and talk to him, so as Louis lies down on his hotel bed, he pulls out his phone, and does exactly that.

“Lou?”

Harry’s voice comes through after a couple of rings, and Louis instantly feels the extent to which he misses him.

“Hey, Harry. I’m sorry I haven’t talked to you; I’ve been incredibly busy. How are you?”

“Good! Haven’t really done much, think Niall and Liam are tired of me bothering them all the time.”

Harry chuckles at the end of his words, but it almost sounds forced.

“Sorry, love. I wish I was there, you have no idea. When I get back let’s do something. Whatever you want.”

“Whatever I want?”

“Yeah, you can plan it all out if you want to, or just tell me what to do.”

“Okay, let me think about it, alright?”

“Sure.”

“Oh, Lou, Zayn wants to talk to you.”

“Okay.”

“Talk to you later, yeah?”

“Yeah. And Harry?”

“Mhmm?”

“I uhh…I really miss you.”

There is silence for ten seconds before Harry finally responds.

“Me too, Louis.”

Initially, Louis is hurt that he doesn’t really say it back, but those words that do manipulate their way out of him, they come out fragile, and shaky, and hurt. They come out like Harry really isn’t doing fine after all, and it stabs at Louis’ heart a million and a half times. He wants to be there to hold him close, he wants to be there so that Harry never has to feel whatever it is that he’s feeling, again. But there’s still over a week left, and this just really isn’t easy.

**Harry**

Harry misses Louis. Not just a little bit, not just kinda, but more than anything else in the entire world, and that scares Harry like nothing else. Harry misses Louis, badly. Since he’s been gone, Harry lies awake in the bed and just smells the remaining scent of Louis’ skin on the pillows. Since he’s been gone, Harry has holed himself up in their room and has only come out to eat with the other lads who have been making sure to feed him, at least. Since he’s been gone, Harry hasn’t been alright. He lied when he said he was okay. He lied when he said he’s been hanging out with Niall and Liam. He didn’t mean to, but he did. Like with everything else, the lies just keeps building up.

The problem too, with Louis being gone, is that all the demons that had been pushed under the rug, are once again back out to play. There are no blue eyes to keep him distracted, there is no one to think about more than the shadows that lurk around. With Louis gone, Harry is vulnerable, and it’s like they all know that it’s the perfect time to strike.

ê ê ê ê

How many nights can you lay awake and stare at a set of digits, before you go insane? Every night, every hour, Harry retypes the numbers to call home, and every time, he stares until his eyes burn, and then shuts off his phone.

ê ê ê ê

_Knock. Knock._

“Harry, it’s Niall.”

The sheets tangle around Harry like snakes, twisting and pulling on his limbs, tightening their hold on his frame. He doesn’t want to move. He doesn’t want to have to get up, or talk, or live. For hours, he’s been watching his life go back on rewind, old memories being pulled out from the clutter, dusted off, and replayed. He’s reliving his darkest hours, his hardest moments, and they’re never stopping. Like a record player, the memories just keep going, around and around they play in his head. When Niall’s voice breaks through his trance, he’s not sure if it’s a miracle, or a curse. Obviously being pulled from his thoughts is a plus, but being brought back to this reality, where Louis is still gone, it’s not all that much better.

“Harry…please, please open up. We don’t have to talk, I promise. I just want to see that you’re okay.”

It’s heartbreaking to grasp the concern in Niall’s voice, and hear the way he pleas through the door, the only barrier keeping Harry away from the rest of the world. He really doesn’t want to, he really doesn’t want to get up. But maybe just this once, he could sacrifice for Niall. Harry pulls apart the covers that had him tied up, and arranges his body so that he’s sitting up as his legs dangle over the edge. He stops here, takes a few deep breaths, and then stands up. Even though it shouldn’t, it feels like some small accomplishment.

“Okay, Niall. Hold on.”

Unlocking the door, Harry swings it open so that he can let Niall in.

“Thanks, man. Come here.”

Instantly, Niall grabs Harry into a hug that completely throws Harry off guard. It’s sudden, but also warm, and friendly, and its exactly what Harry needs without realizing so.

“I’m sorry.”

Niall steps back quickly, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Sorry for what? You have nothing to be sorry for!”

“I just…”

“Let’s sit first.”

Niall sits down on the bed, pulling along Harry, and then continues on with what he had been saying previously.

“Harry, I don’t know what you’re going through, and I don’t want to assume that I know anything, but I want you to know that I’ve been through shit too. So if you ever want to talk, I’d be happy to listen.”

“Do you miss them?”

The question stumps Niall at first.

“Them?”

“Your family.”

Niall looks away for a second, clearly wondering what to say. When he begins to respond to Harry, he keeps his eyes focused elsewhere, as Harry looks at him.

“It’s hard to say, really. My family was great, I had both my parents, I had a brother. For a long time, we were all so happy, and it seems unreal thinking back on it now. But I was also a kid, and a lot of the things that weren’t so great, were happening behind closed doors. As I got older, I started to figure out certain things that had changed my perspective about my parents. Things didn’t end on a good note, and I haven’t talked to them since everything happened, but there are times…of course there are times, when I just kinda miss them and I’m not sure why.”

“Does the feeling ever go away?”

“What feeling?”

“That I’ve done something wrong.”

This time Niall’s eyes connect back to Harry’s, and Harry wishes he could take back those words that somehow managed to slip through the gates.

“It’s different for me, because I didn’t surrender myself. I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong, but neither should you. I don’t know what you’ve been through, but just knowing you the short time that I have, I can tell that you’re insanely caring. I’m sure that the decision you made, was the best choice you could have done, and I’m sorry that you feel like you’ve made a mistake.”

“I don’t think it’s that, I just…”

Harry never finishes his sentence, however, lost in thought. Niall decides to speak again, filling the wavelengths of Harry’s mind with his words.

“I know that Louis is glad to have you here.”

It’s not enough, but it helps. It helps a lot. And Harry isn’t entirely sure why, but he won’t complain. For the first time since Louis’ been gone, he feels partially okay again.

**Louis**

“Martha, I don’t think you understand, I cannot take the next flight in the morning, I need to be on this one. Now!”

“Mr. Tomlinson, I cannot do anything for you. This flight is full, and your ticket does not appear to be in our system. That seat was probably double-booked.”

Louis is fuming, and he wouldn’t be surprised if smoke was literally coming out of his ears because that’s how mad he is. Standing in the airport, he is supposed to be on the flight that leaves in thirty minutes, and apparently he’s not showing up. This cannot be happening. He needs to get back to Harry.

“Look, I spent the money to be on this flight. I need to be on this flight. There has to be some way you can compromise with me here.”

“There is nothing I can do. If you want to speak with the person that also bought the same seat as you and see if they are willing to negotiate, then by all means, you may do so. But as far as what I can do, there really is nothing more.”

And well, just fuck. Fuck it all to hell.

ê ê ê ê

In the backseat of his drivers’ car, Louis imagines how different this all would be if he didn’t have any money, because money, bought his way back onto the plane, thanks to a very easily negotiable person who thinks one thousand dollars is substantial. Because money, bought him a driver who’s willing to drive above the speed limit for a few hundred extra. Because money, bought him a beautiful boy that’s waiting back at home for him, and that he honest to god has been terribly alone without. Money, is the key factor into all that Louis has, and it’s very strange to acknowledge it’s significance in his life. Just pieces of paper with some stupid faces on it, and yet, it’s gotten Louis everything.

“Felix, whatever you do, get me there in thirty minutes.”

“But sir, it’s at least another fifty-minute drive.”

“Just do it.”

ê ê ê ê

Thirty minutes exactly, and Louis is walking up from his driveway to his front door. His body aches, his head is throbbing, and he’s sure he’s going to break down due to exhaustion. But the fact that he hasn’t seen Harry in two weeks, or even talked to him in just as much time, has him moving at a pace he couldn’t do otherwise. Entering inside, he doesn’t yell out that he’s back, he’ll see Zayn when he can, he just makes his way to his room and to his Harry. His Harry.

Pushing the door open, Louis is immediately consumed in a smell of sweat and vanilla. It’s odd how much it appeals to his senses, and before he knows what he’s doing, he’s looking for the source. Harry is lying on his bed, all his limbs are sprawled out, and he’s somehow managed to take over the whole king mattress. He looks peaceful, but Louis wonders if that’s just a disguise, a façade. Sleep seems to always have that affect, hiding away worries behind dreams and fantasies. Louis wonders what Harry could be dreaming about. Maybe it’s about him.  _God, being this tired is making me think stupid shit._

Louis rips his clothes off, doesn’t bother to wash his face or brush his teeth, before climbing into the covers. He shoves Harry over a bit to give himself some room, and then he pulls the sheets so that he’s underneath them too. Louis then turns his body so that he’s lying on his right side, with his face directly in front of Harry’s. It really isn’t fair just how much Louis has been missing him. He didn’t even know it was possible to feel that towards anyone, but only minutes into his flight to NYC, and he was already aching to be with the younger boy.  _What has he done to me? What mystical spell did he put on me to make me feel these things?_ Louis doesn’t know, but what he does know, is that in this moment, with Harry’s smell invading his lungs each time that he breathes, and Harry’s face only inches apart, he wants to kiss him. And the minute that the thought is fully processed in his mind, Louis doesn’t wait as he leans forward, and kisses Harry on the forehead.

“I’ve really missed you, you shit.”

He’s not sure why he whispers it as his body succumbs to his exhaustion, but just before his eyelids close for the night, he swears he hears a husky voice answer back.

“I missed you, too.”

**Harry**

Waking up in the morning, Harry has no energy to get out of bed. Louis was supposed to come home yesterday, but looking around the room only tells Harry that he never did. It really shouldn’t upset him, but it’s just one more on the list of things that have slowly been dragging Harry down. He’s not sure when he last showered, he’s not sure when he last had a full meal. He gets snacks brought to him, but that’s it. He hasn’t made an effort to do much of anything, and he’s not sure what’s really to blame for it all.

For another half hour, Harry just lies in the bed. He’s over exhausted all his thoughts that at this point, he’s just staring at the wall, thinking of absolutely nothing at all. Right when he’s about to potentially shut his eyes to sleep again, he hears someone coming to the door. No one has ever not knocked at this point, so it really startles Harry when the door is dramatically swung open. But once he catches sight of who’s on the other side, Harry jumps out of bed.

“Louis?”

Walking in, Louis is naked except for a pair of black Calvin Klein boxers, and is carrying a tray full of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and muffins. Louis’ smiling, and Harry is completely taken with how sublime the rarity is.

“Hi, Curly. I made you breakfast.”

Harry is stunned as Louis walks past him, bringing the tray down on to the bed, and then sitting down as well.

“When did you get here?”

Harry is still standing, dumbfounded.

“Last night, love. It was late, sorry. Thought I’d wake you up with some breakfast, but I’m pretty shit at cooking so I woke Niall up and made him cook us all this food.”

Louis is strangely energetic, and he’s talking a mile a minute that Harry’s lagging brain can’t keep up with him.

“Niall?”

“Yes, now please tell me your hungry and that I didn’t bother him for nothing.”

It’s like Louis’ a different person. He’s flashing this huge grin again at Harry, and he’s lively, which is odd because he’s never ever seemed even remotely amused by anything before. Yet here he is, and he’s like this ball of sun to Harry’s darkness, and it’s so astonishing that Harry doesn’t know how to respond, or react.

“I…yeah. Okay.”

“Great, dig in!”

Harry doesn’t need to be told twice. He sits down across from Louis on the bed, grabs a fork, and starts eating away at the pile of food. The whole morning has thrown him so far of his course that he doesn’t even have a chance to remember that he hasn’t been doing well. He doesn’t have a chance to recall how these past two weeks have been spent. He just eats, and listens to Louis, and stares much longer than socially acceptable at Louis’ lips, because seeing him smile is still so weird and overwhelming.

**Louis**

It’s really hard to act like everything is fine, when the evidence that it’s not is staring right in Louis’ face. Harry looks like hell, and Louis doesn’t know how to handle it. He woke up in the morning, got Niall to make them food, and then came back into the room thinking this was just going to be another day. What he didn’t expect to find when opening the door, was to see Harry look…diminished. His skin was pale, his eyes were bloodshot, even his perfect curls were frizzy and tangled. Louis was honestly sure that Harry was going to notice his hesitation upon entering in, but Louis must admit, he did a pretty good job pretending nothing was different.

After managing to get Harry to eat food, and then practically forcing him into the shower, Louis takes this time to go back upstairs and talk with the other lads. They must know something that has happened since he left, that has left Harry in such a state.

“Zayn? Can I come in?”

Standing at their door, Louis waits for Zayn’s response before entering.

“Yeah, man. Come in.”

“Great, thanks.”

The three boys are just lounging on the floor, apparently in the middle of a game of ‘Uno.’ Sometimes Louis forgets how young at heart Zayn is, when he often tends to appear so mature.

“You’re a bunch of children, aren’t you?”

Niall chuckles, as Zayn rolls his eyes. Liam just smirks and then puts down a card.

“What do you want, Louis?”

“Thanks for asking, Zayn (saying his name in a mocking tone). Did anything happen while I was gone? To uhm, to Harry?”

They all sit quietly, bodies still, except for their eyes that look over one another. Finally, Zayn speaks up.

“Niall? Liam? Do one of you want to answer Louis’ question?”

The two boys nod their heads, but it’s Liam who speaks up first.

“After you left, he just locked himself up in your room. He didn’t really come out to eat, or talk, or anything. We kept checking in on him, making sure he was okay, but something…something was really off.”

“Thank you for telling me the truth. Do you have any idea what might have triggered this behavior?”

Niall jumps in this time.

“No! I tried to ask him, but he didn’t say much. The only thing he did do was ask me if the feeling ever goes away.”

“What feeling, Niall?”

“And I quote, ‘the feeling like I’ve done something wrong,’ end quote.”

Louis nods his head, and then turns on his heels to walk back out of the door. Whatever it is that Harry has been hiding, is finally catching up to him. If Louis doesn’t find a way to get Harry to tell him what’s happened, he’s afraid Harry will continue to bottle it all up until he ruptures. This is dangerous and unfamiliar territory for Louis, but all he knows is that whatever he does, he has to handle Harry with care.

ê ê ê ê

Three days have passed since Louis figured out he really needs to get Harry to talk, and in those three days, nothing has occurred. At first, Louis was doing his best just to distract Harry. Right after he found out, Louis went back down to his room and told Harry they needed to go out, and so he took him to the zoo. The next day, Louis was at work and had a late meeting, meaning he didn’t have to come up with an excuse, but yesterday… well yesterday almost went to shit.

Louis decided to leave work early, and made reservations for him and Harry to go to dinner. However, when he made it home, Harry was out and Louis had no idea where he’d gone. After a few calls, Harry’s phone went to voicemail and Louis was freaking out. Fortunately, he remembered he had Harry’s phone tracked, so he hurriedly looked up where the phone was located. Staring at his computer, Louis spent the better part of his night debating furiously with himself on whether he should go out and get Harry, until a few hours later when that dot began to make its way home.

When Harry eventually got inside, Louis was ready to scream, but then he saw Harry’s face. He saw how Harry’s expression told a million stories, a million words, and it nearly broke Louis’ heart. Something had broken poor Harry again, Louis could tell. So instead of reprimanding him, Louis just asked that he answer next time Louis calls, and that was it.

ê ê ê ê

“Mr. Tomlinson, your father’s on line one.”

“Thanks, Eleanor.”

Louis clicks over to line one, dreading what could possibly be said over this phone call.

“Hello, father.”

“My son! How are you!”

“Good, and yourself?”

“Good! I just got off the phone with New York, they couldn’t stop raving about how impressed they were with you.”

“Is that right?”

“Yes, indeed it is. I have to admit, Louis, I’m very proud of you. I always imagined you following in my footsteps, but I never dreamed of you succeeding so well.”

“Thanks, father. But I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Look, Mr. Pritchard is hosting a party come this Saturday, why don’t you come?”

“As long as I can bring my pet?”

Louis hates the way the word tastes on his tongue, but he hates the thought of saying subordinate even more at this point.

“You think he’s ready for an event such as this? You’re risking your entire reputation if you bring him out with you.”

“I have the utmost faith in him.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

As if Louis would ever listen.

**Harry**

A grandfather clock chimes that it’s twelve in the afternoon, it’s song echoing through the halls and into Harry’s dreams. Waking him, he turns over in the bed to find that he’s alone. It’s Saturday, which means that Louis is at physical training, and tonight is the party that Louis is taking Harry too. Throughout the past few days, Louis made sure to have Harry’s body measured and fitted for a tux, and explained to Harry a million times over how important this night is for him. Harry doesn’t truly want to go, but….well Harry doesn’t really have a choice.

It’s not that he doesn’t want to be there in support of Louis, because if anything, that’s exactly why he’s sucking up his fears and going. But truthfully, he doesn’t feel like pretending any more than he already has been, that he’s doing okay. And in addition, his anxiety is through the roof. So yeah, Harry is fairly sure that tonight is not going to go well. But what else can he do?

ê ê ê ê

“Look, love, there aren’t going to be many times I’m going to ask things of you, but tonight, I have a few requests.”

Louis stares in front of Harry, dressed in an all-black tux, with a black shirt underneath. He looks…well he looks sophisticated, wealthy, and really fucking handsome. Harry’s cheeks flush at the sight of him, and he’s dreadfully hoping Louis doesn’t notice.

“Yes, Lou, I understand. Go ahead with them.”

“Thanks. For one, I need you by my side the entire night. If you need to go to the bathroom, if you want to grab a drink, or whatever else, I will accompany you there. Don’t hesitate to ask, but just know that you’re not going alone. Second, do not talk to anyone unless I tell you to. These people will use whatever they can to rile you up, and they would like nothing more than to see you act out. Third, and final, anything else I ask of you when I am there, you have to obey. If I tell you not to eat something, if I tell you to greet someone or not greet someone, if I tell you to pee on a tree, Harry, I’m very serious. You have to listen to me. Now do you understand and agree to all of these conditions?”

“Yes.”

“Any questions?”

“No.”

“Good. Let’s get going, beautiful.”

And after Louis being so serious, it sort of alarms Harry when Louis gives him the compliment. Not to mention the little smirk Louis adds at the end, which helps Harry to somehow relax. That is, only until they’re arriving at the place, and his anxiety starts acting up again.

ê ê ê ê

“Mr. Tomlinson, how nice to see you this evening. I dare say, I did not expect you to come bearing gifts.”

Whoever this older fellow is, he gives Harry a once over that sends violent chills throughout his spine. Louis seems to notice, reaching his fingers out and caressing Harry’s waist.

“Mr. Pritchard, it’s absolutely wonderful to see you again. And yes, well this is Harry. He’s accompanying me tonight.”

“Too bad. I could use a pretty face like that. Any who, enjoy your night Mr. Tomlinson, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around.”

Louis and the other man bow their heads before they depart. As Louis starts walking ahead, he grabs a hold of Harry’s hand, grasping it firmly within his grip. Trailing Louis, the two boys head towards a table that is already half-way filled of the same kind of elite men that Louis just conversed with. With only steps away from the assumed destination, Louis turns around and pulls Harry close, to whisper in his ear.

“Harry, thank you for not talking to him. I’m sorry for the way he addressed you, but I’m also warning you, there’s potentially going to be a lot worse. It’s best to bite your tongue, I’ll say something if I have too.”

“Okay.”

“Now come on. My father is sitting at that table and he’s been wanting to meet you.”

Father? Uhm...shit. As Louis continues to pull Harry along, Harry steadily feels sick. He’s heard about the real Mr. Tomlinson, and he’s been pretty content with not having met him before. Unfortunately, Harry has no way to protest before a man turns around at the table, and gives Louis a snobbish grin.

“My boy! Glad you made it. And this must be your subordinate.”

“His name is Harry, father…”

“Right, well…Harry, pleased to finally meet you.”

Louis’ father extends out his hand and Harry looks to Louis before shaking it. Louis gives a quick nod, and then Harry’s hand is wrapped up in Mr. Tomlinson’s. When Harry looks up to give him a smile, he notices that Louis really looks nothing like him, and in some weird aspect, is quite happy about that.

“I see you have him trained better than expected. Now, you both are sitting here with me, but there’s a lot of people that have been wanting to speak with you, son, and I think you should go seek them out first.”

“Of course, father.”

And all too soon, or possibly not soon enough, they’re up and walking around again.

ê ê ê ê

Champagne. Champagne. Champagne. That’s all anyone is drinking, except for a few women who are sipping wine. Louis hasn’t sat down to eat and relax since the moment they’ve arrived, which means that Harry is starving and thirsty. He tries to be accommodating and ignore his growling stomach as Louis is in a serious debate with a few other men about some attributes of the business, but Harry at this point seriously wants to go home. Not without ordering pizza first though, obviously.

As the men all laugh at something Louis has said, Harry looks away to scan the rest of the crowd. Everyone seems very blasé. Half smiles are decorating their plastic faces, and their eyes are dull and bored. While everyone in this room has on some form of high-end attire, and are eating and drinking from the best quality money can afford, they could not be more indifferent. Had Harry’s younger self who sometimes didn’t have a proper meal to eat, seen this image, he still would have envied their positions. Because despite their ever apparent displeasure towards their lives, they still have money. But Harry, the Harry that is present and here now, doesn’t find himself wishing to be in anyone else’s position tonight. And that’s… that’s quite a break-through for him.

Still scanning the nameless crowd, Harry is just about to turn back to Louis when he spots a familiar face glaring back up at him. It’s Simon. Fuck. Harry starts tugging on Louis’ hand without completely being rude, but Simon’s starting to move towards him and he wants to go. Now. And fuck, Louis is ignoring him.

The distance starts to diminish between them, as Simon strides towards Harry, and Harry needs to run. He needs to go. He can’t wait for Louis to finish his conversation, he needs to get the fuck out of here, this fucking minute. And suddenly, finally, Louis excuses himself and turns to Harry with a look of pure concern.

“Harry, what’s wrong?”

“Simon.”

**Louis**

The minute the name slithers its way out of Harry’s mouth, Louis looks up to find himself face-to-face with none other than Simon fucking Cowell.  _Oh this is bloody brilliant_ , Louis thinks to himself.

“Louis, how nice of you to show up this evening. I’ve been desperately wanting to see you again. How’s your father, doing well I see?”

“Fuck off.”

Simon’s lips quirk into a smirk, but then his eyes direct themselves to Harry, and for a split second, Louis had forgotten that Harry mentioned he too, knows Simon.

“And Harry, what a pleasant surprise to see you.”

Harry’s face is downcast so that he’s not looking up at Simon, and Louis is initially confused at the interaction, but then there’s just anger riling in him so forceful he’s going to tear this whole place down. How could Simon make Harry appear so small? How dare he? And thankfully, Harry doesn’t speak, but then Simon decides it’s apparently okay for him to talk again.

“How’s your Mum? How’s Gemma?”

The way Simon say’s Gemma has Louis sick. He drags out each syllable painfully slow, and it literally breaks Harry apart. Harry’s eyes pool with tears, and he’s physically shaking. Louis doesn’t wait another minute before cutting in.

“Simon, you need to walk away or I swear on my life I will tear you limb from limb. Do you understand me?”

Louis is stood in between Harry and Simon, and he’s up in Simon’s face, practically growling at him as he blocks Harry behind his frame. Simon just smiles, and Louis wants to punch him with every fiber in his being.

“Wow, Louis. Didn’t know Harry here couldn’t have a simple chat. No matter, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you both around very soon.”

Simon turns away, but not before giving Harry one last glance. Louis scowls, and then grabs Harry into a hug, letting the poor boy cry into his shoulder.

“It’s alright, love. You’re alright. Let’s go home, yeah?”

Harry nods his head against Louis, and Louis can’t help but grin at how adorable Harry is, despite the state they’re both in.

“Good, let’s go home and cuddle.”

Louis’ doesn’t waste a minute saying goodbye to anyone as he walks Harry out. The drive home is long, and Louis’ mind is riddled with questions he’s dying to ask Harry. But looking at the younger boy’s swollen red eyes, and puffy cheeks, it’s the last thing he knows that should be talked about tonight. So when they get home, Louis orders pizza and puts on the TV, then pulls Harry into his chest while running his fingers through the younger boy’s curly hair, wondering to himself how someone could be so damaged?

ê ê ê ê

The day after that night, Harry spent the entirety of it in bed. Two days after that night, Harry only left to eat. Three days after that night, and only Harry manages to go for a walk. Four days after that night, and Louis is going insane. He tried giving the boy his space, he knew he needed it. But how long can you sit by and watch someone self-destruct, before it’s time to step in and do something about it?

ê ê ê ê

“Mr. Tomlinson, you have a call on line one.”

“Ugh, I’m in the middle of something here, Eleanor. Is it urgent?”

“It’s Zayn, sir.”

“Alright, alright. Thanks.”

Being at work hasn’t been helping. Louis has done nothing with his time but think of ways to bring up his questions to Harry. Or how to convince Harry to shower. Or how to convince Harry to eat. Genuinely, he is trying to be there for Harry, but he’s also properly going mad. Maybe that’s why Zayn’s calling him at work, to keep him from going off the deep end.

“Hello?”

“Hi, boo.”

“Zayn, it’s come to calling me at work now? Have I really been that hard to talk to at home?”

Louis chuckles but it’s a nervous laugh more than anything else.

“Uhm, kinda. Louis, Harry’s just… well… he’s not doing well. Niall and Liam got him to talk a bit today, which is good, yeah? But they said he won’t mention anything about what’s bothering him.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, and I was calling because maybe I have an idea. I think, I think Harry needs to see his family. I know Niall wanted nothing to do with his for obvious reasons, but when Liam came home with me, he was pretty distant for a while. Once I told him he was allowed to see and talk to them, it changed his mood a ton, and you know I love his family like my own. Maybe Harry is going through this because he misses them too?”

“You really think that might work? I made a comment to him when I got him the phone that he could talk to whoever he wanted.”

“Well maybe he needs more reassurance that it’s okay for him to do that.”

“That’s not a bad idea, I’ll see what I can do.”

“Just want you both to be happy.”

“You’re the best, mate.”

“Love you, too.”

ê ê ê ê

“Harry…do you want to go for a drive?”

Harry is lying down on the bed in his typical position when Louis gets back from work. Harry’s never-ending torso is against the covers, his hair dancing wildly around his head. He’s looking up at the ceiling, staring into an expanse of nothingness, or maybe it’s an expanse of something. Not anything Louis can see anyways.

“Now?”

“Yeah, it’s not that late. Won’t be long, just thought it could do you some good getting out of this house.”

“Oh, alright.”

Slowly, Harry lifts his body up so that he’s walking alongside Louis towards the garage. After Louis unlocks the door, they both get inside the black Range Rover, buckling up their seatbelts and listening to music. Louis waits twenty minutes of them driving until he thinks it’s safe to talk.

“I know there’s a lot going on for you, and I know you haven’t been happy in a long time, but I want you to know that you can talk to me about it. It’s hard having to adjust to a new life, but that doesn’t mean you have to forget your old one. If you’re missing your family, Harry-”

“Who said anything about my family?”

Harry snaps, but Louis knows that’s a defense mechanism and decides to trudge on.

“You know, I’m going to tell you the story about Liam, Zayn, and Niall. I know you were curious once, and I think after hearing it, it might help you figure some of your own stuff out.”

Sighing dramatically, Harry shrugs his shoulders and then complies.

“Alright.”

Louis reminds himself not to take offense, this is new for Harry. While yes, his body is faced in the opposite direction, and he’s watching out the window with clearly more interest in the passing houses than Louis, Harry’s still giving some attention to him. So Louis continues, knowing that this story will eventually capture Harry in.

“Liam’s family had been in a serious amount of debt, and they were going to put his mum in the system when Liam volunteered himself in her place. He was no more than eighteen years old, and Zayn had just been old enough to go to ‘The Auction,’ for the first time. He saw Liam up on the stage, and he said he somehow sensed something, and that was that. It was crazy because very quickly, Zayn brought Liam home and they were madly in love. But Liam still had a hard time at first. He missed his family and didn’t realize that Zayn was actually okay with him seeing them or talking to them. Once they talked it out though, everything was good again. Liam’s family quickly became Zayn’s family, and they were happy as can be. It wasn’t until two years later that Niall had come into the picture. It’s strange because Zayn and Niall actually knew each other from school. They had even been acquaintances prior to everything that happened.”

“Everything that happened?”

“Niall’s family was up and coming, if you will. They were low on the totem pole in comparison to the rest of us, us being those with names that mean more than just an identification as to who we are, but our status in society…but they weren’t completely unknown. It all happened very fast honestly, they made this large sum of money, and suddenly the Horans were throwing lavish affairs and dining at exquisite places. They had gone from nobodies to somebodies overnight, and it was all very suspicious. Course we all know that doesn’t realistically happen, and within months of their newfound fortune, their secrets were exposed. They had been selling illegal drugs in and out of the country, exporting their product within their company made merchandise. Their company made all sorts of decorative cups and plates, and they’d ship them out with cocaine to their buyers. When they were caught, they offered up Niall as their bailout for prison, because they didn’t have any money to afford the cost. Fortunately, Niall could not replace their sentencing, but putting him through ‘The Auction’ did lower his parents, and his brother’s cost for being released.”

“Holy shit.”

“Yep. When Niall was put through CAHE, Zayn saw him at the auction immediately, and outbid everyone else. He didn’t want his friend to end up with some asshole, especially after everything everyone knew his family did to him, and so Niall was brought home to us. For a while he was really reserved, going through his own problems and family ordeal, but Zayn, Liam, and I were all here for him. We stuck it out, and eventually he came around.”

“You lads are good friends.”

“That’s what you do for someone you care about. And Harry, that’s how I feel for you. I want you to let me be there for you, I want you to let me help you and support you through whatever it is that you’re going through.”

“I’ve never opened up to anyone about what I’ve gone through.”

“Maybe it’s time you did.”

Louis peels his eyes off the road, gazing into Harry’s radiant, green eyes enraptured in so much pain and hurt. He knows they don’t trust him yet, but there’s a hint, a hint of something that gives Louis just enough hope to pursue on.

**Harry**

Telling Liam and Niall’s stories did put into perspective just how everyone has their own shit to deal with. Harry’s not alone in this. But how does he even go about telling everything? How does he find the time, to tell everything? Harry sits with his thoughts for two days, while Louis is away on a quick business trip. In that time, he allows himself to hang out with Niall and Liam. He allows himself to chat with Zayn. They play a couple games of everything they own, and they even leave the house to get ice cream and play footie in the park. Well…Zayn doesn’t play footie, but he sits and watches. For the first time in a long time, Harry starts to feel a part of a family, and to be quite honest, that petrifies him. Caring for others has never ended well for him, prime example…surrendering his freedom.

ê ê ê ê

“I want to tell you.”

Louis has just started unpacking his clothes from his trip. It’s midnight on Sunday, and Louis has work in the morning, so really, Harry could have picked a better time to tell him. But once the idea was in Harry’s head, he had a hard time holding it in.

“Tell me what?”

“About me. About my life.”

This time, Louis’ body freezes, staring at Harry shocked, but Harry doesn’t stop talking.

“I can’t tell you everything at once, though. It’s…a lot. So, erm. I want to tell you like, in pieces. Like maybe one day I’ll tell you this much, and another day I’ll tell you more. I just want to take it kinda slow for now.”

“Harry, are you sure you’re ready for this? Because you don’t have to force yourself to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it, and you’re right. I need to let this go.”

Louis puts down the clothes that were in his hands, and crawls on the bed towards where Harry is sitting. Then he pulls Harry in for an unexpected hug, and Harry squeezes Louis’ frame as tightly as he can, before Louis pulls away again.

“When do you want to start telling me?”

“Now? If that’s alright?”

“Course, love.”

“ ‘m gonna start at the beginning, cause that’s like…the best place to begin.”

“Okay, darling. Whatever you want.”

Harry takes a deep breath, and Louis grabs Harry’s hand into his own, holding him while he musters up the courage to speak again.

“So…my mum used to be married to my biological father. They had me and my sister Gemma, and we were pretty happy for a while. We were normal back then, they worked, me and my sister went to school. On Saturday’s Mum would take us to the park and let us run around with our friends, and every Sunday morning Dad made pancakes for breakfast. Those were the happiest times of my life, Lou. So often I find myself thinking about how ignorant I was to everything as a child, and I almost miss it, you know? Being blind to the real troubles at home. It was all whispered. Everything they argued was hushed and discussed behind closed doors. Sometimes Mum would look like she was going to cry, and Gemma and I never knew why. It wasn’t until I was eight that they sat us down and said that they were separating, and because neither of them could afford the house on their own, they were both moving to smaller places. The last time I saw my dad was the day we moved away. Haven’t seen or heard from him since.”

It’s unimaginably difficult to unbury the past, but after the story is told and the words are said, Harry finds he feels lighter. Released from a small portion of the pressure that has been building inside of him. There’s still acres of memories and stories left, but it’s something. In fact, it’s almost jarring for Harry to realize that this was not the shitstorm he thought it would be. It’s even…it’s even peaceful?

It doesn’t take long before Louis wraps his arms around Harry, and without taking their clothes off or finishing his unpacking, they fall asleep. Entangled in limbs, cuddled into one another. Harry falls asleep with the image of blue eyes swirling in his dreams, and Louis falls asleep with Harry’s scent in his veins. It’s the first time in a while where things are truly okay.

**Louis**

Days passed seamlessly after Harry revealed the little information about himself. Louis was on cloud nine, he felt like he had made a breakthrough, and Harry had been… dare he say it…happier? It wasn’t as if Harry had suddenly been smiling and laughing, and there were rainbows coming out of his arse, but he was trying again. Niall, Liam, and Harry started to go to the park and play footie, and Louis joined in on them if they waited till he got back from work. Zayn would come along to watch, laughing along with the others when Harry fumbled, or Niall toppled. Life was seeming to fall back into place, except for the fact that Louis was starting to get thirsty for more information. He wanted to know more on Harry, and he couldn’t help getting anxious for needing it again.

ê ê ê ê

“Lou, can we…can we talk?”

“Sure, love.”

Louis is hiding away in his study, shuffling through papers of information, trying to find something worth telling back to his father, when Harry knocks on the door. He looks unfairly attractive in his black jeans and white t-shirt, but then, Louis always thinks he looks attractive, so it’s really nothing new at this point.

“I just wanted to talk about what you want me to do while I’m here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…erm, I’ve been here for a while now, and like, you haven’t told me anything to do. And I know that’s not how this always works, but if there is, like, something you want me to do, I want you to tell me.”

“You mean rules? Or chores?”

“Yeah, kinda.”

It comes as a surprise to Louis that Harry would even ask to have something given to him, but maybe he’s bored and would like something to do while Louis’ at work?

“I never intended to give you kind of rules or expectations. If there are things you’d like to do, by all means, you are allowed to do them. If there’s something you’re not sure I’d be happy about, you can always ask first if you want. I know that some people buy at ‘The Auction,’ because they want someone to clean for them, or have sex with them…I’m not interested in forcing you to do anything.”

“Okay, but I’m not opposed to anything either. It wouldn’t be forcing if I was open to it.”

“True, I suppose. Then in that case…what about making dinner? I wouldn’t mind having a meal ready when I get home. Would you be okay with that?”

“Yeah!”

And surprisingly, Harry’s expressions lightens, and he seems whole-heartedly eager at the request.

“Alright. What about making the bed?”

“I’d be happy too.”

“Good, is there…is there anything you want me to ask you?”

“Erm, well, maybe you could…never mind.”

“What?”

“It’s silly.”

“That’s okay, babe, come on now.”

“Maybe you could take me out like once a week, on like a date night?”

“Date night?”

“ ‘s stupid I told you.”

“NO! It’s not! I think it’s a great idea actually.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, I get so busy with work and we don’t do much, so yeah, every Friday I’ll take you out.”

There’s a huge grin on Harry’s face now that Louis slowly wants to devour away. Wanting severely to kiss at every inch of Harry’s perfect plump lips. Louis almost finds himself leaning forward, but then Harry’s body starts to shift away.

“Okay! That’s it, I think.”

“Right. Thanks, Harry. Glad we had this talk.”

With Harry closing the door behind himself, Louis returns back to the stack of papers on his desk. “SYCO, an organization set on helping those who need money fast. We provide quick and easy loans to those that qualify for our services, and we help set up a payment plan that works for everyone. We here at SYCO…” _Fucking bullshit._ Louis reads along all the information that he can about Simon’s company. About how it does business, and trying to find the truth behind the lines. Where is he getting his money from? How was he able to afford to buy out Tomlinson Enterprises biggest partners? And why? Nothing is adding up, and everything that his father finally had uncovered about Simon was stolen back. Damn dirty scum. Louis needs to look harder if he wants to beat Simon out.

**Harry**

“Niall, you have food on your face.”

“Saving it for later.”

Laughter erupts from Harry, which then has Niall giggling as he continues making them lunch. Grilled cheese with French fries and bacon, because why not eat bacon at every meal of the day? Or so Niall proclaims.

“Does it bother you when Zayn takes Liam out and not you?”

“No, Liam was here first, you know? And like, I get my days with Zayn, too. Sometimes it’s just a lot having all three of us together.”

“Yeah, I can see that. I don’t think I could do it, that’s for sure.”

“I didn’t think I could at first, either. But, well Zayn saved me from a lot worse people, and Liam was there for me, and it just fell into place. One day I was looking around, and it was like, ‘oh, this is my life now, and I’m happy, and the past is past.’ Once it all was already happening, the thought of it wasn’t so bad anymore.”

“I get that. And do you love Zayn, too?”

“Yeah, I do. I had a bit of a crush on him back in school, and he never knew it. I mean why would I tell him, we hardly talked back then? Kinda crazy how life works out sometimes.”

“Yes it is, isn’t it?”

“What about you and Louis?”

“What about us?”

“Anything happening between you two?”

“No, why?”

“Well, I see the way he looks at you, and I see the way you look him.”

“How does he look at me?”

“Harry…he looks at you like you’ve created the god damn moon. Fuck. You really don’t notice? And no offence, but you’re not any better. Looking at him like he’s the Holy Jesus or something.”

“No, erm, I haven’t…noticed.”

“Well, get your shit together mate! Don’t have time to waste!”

“And neither do you. I’m hungry and you’re taking too long on that sandwich.”

“Oi! Since when did you get so sassy?”

Niall whacks Harry on the head with his spatula, which causes more chuckling to fill the room, but once Niall’s back is turned again to Harry, Harry’s thoughts come plowing back to him. Louis is kind, and treats Harry well, but their hardly even friends. Harry’s not even sure what he would call the relationship that they have. And even if Louis ever felt something for Harry, it wouldn’t work. Harry has too much baggage, and not the kind people are willing to take on. Not even Harry wants to carry around the weight that they bring. If he could, he’d gladly abandon each and every one of them on some side street, in the middle of nowhere. However, if his issues are what led him to Louis, well then he supposes there’s at least one good outcome from them.

ê ê ê ê

Louis comes home late at night, while Harry is tucked into bed. He’s not asleep, despite having been in the bed for a few hours, he was never able to doze off. Without Louis next to him, the room doesn’t feel as safe, and Harry spends the minutes dreading the shadows that come to life. But Louis returns, scaring all of Harry’s demons away. Harry pretends to still be sleeping, and he’s not exactly sure why he does this. He wants to talk to Louis, he wants to see Louis, but instead he keeps his eyes closed as the familiar body shuffles into bed.

Harry’s been thinking for a while, and he thinks he’s ready to tell Louis more. He’d like to do it during a time that’s appropriate, but knowing himself, he’s just going to spill it all the next chance he gets. Everything’s been kept up inside him for so long that now he’s begun to relinquish some of it, they rest are just banging on the door, begging to be let out. And quite frankly, Harry is more than ready to oblige.

**Louis**

Louis is in a meeting. He’s always in a fucking meeting. And for reasons unbeknownst to him, he is in an awful mood. He woke up and left the house before Harry could realize he was gone, and has spent the majority of his day, sitting at his desk, staring at his hands. He’s been trying all week to get information on Simon, and it’s just not going anywhere, and he’s really fucking pissed about it. Really.

“Mr. Tomlinson…”

Louis looks up from the person presenting, to find Eleanor has opened the door to the meeting room and called out to him.

“Yes?”

“There’s someone on call, they say it’s important.”

“Can it wait?”

Eleanor’s face says it before her mouth can relay.

“I really don’t think it can.”

And well, Louis was over this meeting anyways. So he stands up from his seat, apologizes to the group members, and excuses himself to his office. After he takes a couple deep breaths, his picks up the phone and presses the button to answer the call.

“Hello, Louis Tomlinson speaking.”

“Lou…?”

Harry’s voice oozes into the phone, enveloping Louis in the sound. It takes him by surprise at first, but then it worries him that maybe something is wrong.

“Harry, love? What’s the matter?”

“Oh…erm, nothing really. I just…I didn’t see you this morning and I thought maybe you were…you know, like, mad at me?”

“Aww, darling. No, I’m sorry. I’m in a foul mood, and I just… I didn’t want to upset you, but it seems I have anyways.”

“It’s okay. I just wanted to make sure.”

“You know, how about I take you out when I get back from work later? Wherever you want to go, or whatever you want to do.”

“Whatever?”

“Yes, love. Do you already have something in mind?”

“Maybe, yeah?”

“Okay, what?”

“Can we go to Holmes Chapel?”

And out of all the things that Louis had expected, this…this wasn’t even a tiny bit in the realm of possibilities.

“Ye…yes. Yeah.”

“You sure?”

“More than ever.”

ê ê ê ê

Leaving work earlier than he probably should, Louis makes his way back home. Ever since his talk with Harry, he’s been having trouble thinking about anything else. Harry wants to go to Holmes Chapel. Harry wants to go home. It’s not alarming to Louis that Harry would want to do such a thing, it’s more that Harry wants Louis to go with him. He never thought that Harry would allow Louis into the deepest corners of his world, and well, bringing him back home is pretty much laying everything on the line. Not that Louis is upset, not by any means. He’s just…well he’s not really sure what he’s feeling. He’s just shocked. Very much shocked.

Pulling up into the driveway, Louis grabs his briefcase and makes his way into the house. Upon entering, Louis comes to find Harry and Liam sitting in the living room, laughing over something they are conversing about. It’s really amazing how happy it makes Louis to hear Harry laugh.

“Hi Liam, Harry! You ready to go, love?”

Liam nods his head at Louis from the couch, as Harry starts to push himself up. It’s crazy, but the younger boy is actually smiling. Like a proper, genuine, smile. It’s so beautiful to see, that Louis’ heart nearly beats out of chest.

“Yeah, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

Harry starts to walk ahead of Louis, but the older boy reaches out his hand and intertwines his fingers with Harry’s. It must take him by surprise at first, because he jolts at Louis’ initial touch, but once Louis’ fingers are wrapped tight, Harry squeezes back and Louis knows it’s alright. They’re gonna be alright.

**Harry**

Highway signs and white dashed lines pass by in a hazy blur. Harry gazes out the window as Louis drives further and further away from home. Well…well drives away from  _their_  home. Can Harry even call it that yet? Is it too soon? He’s been living there for a bit now, so it’s only natural he would start to call it that, but…but that’s not Harry’s real home. They’re driving towards Harry’s real home, not away from it, right? Confused, Harry shuts his eyes and drifts off to sleep for the remainder of the trip, still debating which place is really home in his head.

ê ê ê ê

Nostalgia hits Harry full force, crashing into his bones, pounding at his soul. It churns and mixes up all Harry’s emotions, and ignites old memories like a match. The minute that sign for Holmes Chapel is seen, everything he felt he was finally ready for, he finds he’s not.

“Lou…Lou…Louis!”

“Hmmm, what?”

“I don’t want to go. I changed my mind.”

Louis is staring at Harry, afraid he’s going to detonate any minute. And quite truthfully, that’s how Harry feels. Like he’s on the brink of explosion, all of his memories, his life, building up behind a wall and ready to break free. Harry starts to wrap himself up, pulling his knees up to his chest, and tangling his arms around his whole body to hold it all together. Louis pulls over to the side of the road, and Harry knows Louis’ unsure of how to handle this. Even Harry doesn’t know what to do.

“Harry…I…I don’t know what you’re going through, but I’m trying, yeah? I want to be here for you. For the bad bits too. I know this isn’t easy, love, but I’m going to be standing right here with you. You don’t have to do this alone.”

Every syllable that fills the space, comforts Harry, sheltering him in their warmth. How does Louis have this affect on him? How does he know how to console Harry, always? Louis reaches from across his seat, and starts rubbing Harry’s back, and it’s more than anyone has ever done for him. Whenever Harry’s been upset so openly like this, which is few and far between, he’d always been told to toughen up. And then there’s Louis, supporting him, like no one else has. Why? How?

“Thanks, Lou.”

“Always.”

ê ê ê ê

It takes another twenty minutes of calming down before Harry is ready to continue on this journey. Louis makes a comment that it’s alright if Harry wants to turn around, but it’s not. Harry needs to keep going, for his own sanity, if nothing else.

“Where do you want to go first?”

“The park. It’s just straight through the next three lights, and then a left.”

“Okay.”

Few minutes pass by the time they reach the small park. It’s mostly just grass, with a small play ground in the far corner, and a couple of benches. Louis parks his car in the parking lot, and luckily for Harry, there aren’t many people here at this time of day. It’s just past dinner time, meaning most people are home. Harry walks from the car and heads to sit on one of the benches, Louis struts warily behind.

“Do you care if I sit with you, Harry?”

“No, I want you to.”

Taking the empty space next to Harry, the boys sit snug on the bench. Harry exhales and inhales shakily, letting the scent of the town wash over him like water. It bothers him that he’d nearly forgotten it.

“Is it okay if I tell you another story?”

“Of course, love.”

Harry inhales one last time, and when he goes to exhale, he shoves out all his nerves and worries in his final breath.

“When I was young, the first time I walked away from my house was the first time I heard my parents fight. I didn’t want to listen anymore, so I walked out. I was just wandering around on the streets, a bit lost, but I made my way to this park before someone realized I was alone. As I got older, and after my parents split, I’d just walk around by myself all the time. I hated the new place we moved to, and I hated the silence that always took a hold. My sister had nothing to say, my mum had nothing to say, so I’d leave. One day I asked my mum why she never cared that I kept leaving all the time, and you know what she said? She stared directly at me, and she said, ‘I wouldn’t blame you if you left and never came back. I know that’s what I deserve.’ That nearly broke me.”

“Harry…”

“It’s funny though, because after that, things started to get better. I stopped leaving, us three started talking. It was gradual but it was happening, we were progressing. And then…”

“Then what, love?”

Louis leans in closer, and stares so intensely into Harry’s eyes that Harry just wants to cry. This beautiful, beautiful man, somehow just wants to know more. Just wants to know everything about Harry, and if it was anyone else, Harry would say no. But those blue oceans are the most comforting place Harry’s ever seen, and he wants to let them take him whole. Swallow him in their waves of iridescent color.

“I want to tell you, but I…I can’t.”

“That’s okay, love, you’ve done enough. You’ve said enough.”

Louis pulls Harry into a firm embrace, and one tear escapes from Harry’s reigns. It feels like more. It feels like he’s been crying for hours, and maybe inside he has been. Maybe inside he’s been huddled in the deepest room he could find, crying into his arms, lonely and alone in his mind. Maybe for years, this had been Harry, but now…someone’s in there with him too, extending out a hand and a shoulder to cry on. Louis.

ê ê ê ê

“Where to next?”

The boys are back in Louis’ car, and Louis stalls to turn the engine on, clearly waiting for Harry to tell him his answer. But the thing is, is that Harry isn’t sure. Does he ask Louis to drive past his house? Does he bring himself back to the place that he was dying to get out of? If he doesn’t go, he’d most likely regret it, and it’ll haunt his dreams with all the ‘what ifs,’ or the ‘I should haves...’ But if he does go, it could do a lot more damage. He’s come a long way since he’s left, and he doesn’t want to go back. However, as if Louis can tell what Harry’s thinking about, his voice cuts in to Harry’s thoughts as Louis speaks again.

“I don’t know if this is what you’re thinking about, but I think, since we’re here and all, we should at least pass your house. I know it’s been bothering you, and who knows when we’ll decide to drive this way again, so you should do it while you can.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. And I don’t know if you’re scared about it or not, but if you are, you shouldn’t be. You’ve already done this much, love, you can do more.”

“I don’t think I can.”

“You definitely can. Harry, you are so incredibly brave. You have gone through so much, honestly look at where you are? Look how far you’ve come?”

“I’m a sub…Which is just a more politically correct term for slave.”

“Harry! Don’t say that.”

“Why? It’s true, yeah? Nothing really to be proud of.”

Harry knows that what he said had metaphorically been a slap to Louis’ face, he can see it in his expression. And Harry isn’t even sure why he said it. It was like Louis was filling him up with all these bubbles, and then suddenly they all popped, and Harry was hurt again. Harry hasn’t done anything worth being proud of. Why would Louis even suggest that?

“Well…that might be how you see it, but I don’t. And I know Niall doesn’t, Liam doesn’t, and Zayn doesn’t. We see you as Harry, the newest member to our small, but happy family.”

“That’s not how the rest of the world sees me. That’s not how my family will see me.”

“You don’t know that. And you don’t have to see your family today. You can just drive by the house, take a look at it, make amends with whatever you need to, to feel better.”

“…fine. I guess…I guess you’re right.”

“It’s not about being wrong or right. It’s about doing whatever is going to make you happy, love.”

Bringing his hands up, Harry rubs his face into his palms, before breathing heavily a couple of times.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

**Louis**

After being given the address, a thousand scenarios run like racehorses in Louis’ head, frantically and erratically. Louis has no idea how Harry is going to handle seeing his house. And what if his family is there? What if they see the two boys, before Harry’s ready to see them? All Louis wants is what’s best for Harry, but oftentimes he questions if he really knows what that is.

And if he’s not wondering about that, then he’s wondering about how Harry managed to maneuver himself under Louis’ skin? Since when did Louis care for anyone else aside from Zayn? And really, Louis could argue that he cares for Harry way more than Zayn more at this point. Yet, how? How did this happen? How did Harry take a boring life and make it worth living again? How did Harry take Louis’ monotonous, grey days, and turn them into vivid blues skies and sun?

“It’s just up ahead, Lou.”

“Okay, darling.”

Glancing to the side, Louis can see Harry start to turn in on himself, as if attempting to hide away within the confinement of his tangled arms. It’s hard because all Louis wants to do is pull Harry within his own embrace, and cuddle him till the tears fade away. It’s unfair, watching Harry self-implode, and there’s not a damn thing Louis can do about it.

Harry starts staring at a house, and it doesn’t take much for Louis to realize it must be his. It’s his home. The house is run down, there’s a crack in the front left window, the roof is falling apart, and everything just seems depressed. Louis can’t even imagine the kind of life Harry lived in a place so cold and empty. Turning his focus from the house, back to Harry, the scene Louis is met with makes him want to rip his heart out and hand it to Harry. Harry’s staring, but tears are silently falling across from his face, pooling from his eyes, and he’s shaking. Louis shuts the car off in front of the house, and pulls Harry into him, Louis can’t hold back anymore.

“Harry, you’re okay. I’m right here, love.”

Rubbing his back, and tracing gentle circles with his thumb into Harry’s skin, Louis tries to comfort him the best way he knows how. Harry sobs into his shoulder, soaking Louis’ shirt, but Louis could care less.

“What are you thinking, love. You can tell me.”

Shifting away, Harry wipes at his eyes, and then looks back at the house, and again back at Louis.

“I want to see them.”

And that…was not what he had thought Harry would say.

“Alright, do you want me to come with you?”

“Please.”

Louis opens his door, and runs around to the other side, pulling open the passenger door for Harry. When he steps out, Louis grabs onto his hand, and walks carefully beside the timid boy. Together, they make their way up to the front door, and Louis doesn’t wait for Harry as he reaches out and knocks. Thankfully, Harry doesn’t seem to mind at all.

They wait a while, standing outside, waiting for someone to answer the door. Louis knocks three more times against the cracked wooden door, before giving up.

“Harry, are you sure they’re even here?”

Harry doesn’t say anything, but he goes to a potted plant beside the door, and reaches in, searching around until he finds something and pulls it out. A key. Louis refrains from saying anything, as Harry moves towards the knob and shoves the key in, jiggling it a little before unlocking it. Once the lock clicks, Harry takes a deep breath, and then opens the door. Louis takes a deep breath too.

If Louis thought that the outside screamed cold and empty, this inside is even worse. Dust has piled on top of the items that remain. Whoever left this place behind, left in a hurry. Cups scattered across the counter tops, picture frames broken on the floor. Louis bends down to look at some of the frames, finding only one left with a picture in it. It’s Harry, a yearbook picture from primary school. Harry has already walked away, so he never notices when Louis takes the image and places it in his pocket.

After looking about on the first floor, Louis follows Harry up to the second. He still hasn’t said anything, but Louis doesn’t blame him. What could even be said right now? When Harry makes it up the stairs, he goes directly to a room at the end of the hallway, while Louis picks the second room on the right. Except for a blue bed sheet, it’s hardly lived in. The only other sign that anyone has been in here, are the notebooks strewn about on top of a desk. This was Harry’s room.

An enormous weight shifts itself on to Louis’ heart, and even he can’t keep himself from crying. This is too much. It’s all too much. Louis goes to sit on the bed, finding it suddenly hard to stand, when he just about sits on top of a white envelope. On the outside, Harry’s name is written in a rushed, cursive font.

“Oi, Harry!”

His footsteps can be heard walking quickly down the hallway. When Harry makes his way into his old one room, he ignores everything except for Louis.

“Yeah?”

“This…I think this is for you.”

Louis extends out the envelope and Harry analyzes it intensely, but he never takes it from Louis’ grasp.

“Don’t you want to know what’s inside?”

Harry snaps his eyes away from the paper.

“No. Not right now.”

“Alright. Guess I’ll hold on to it.”

Delicately, Louis places it inside his pocket, along with the picture he grabbed from earlier. Harry then speaks out as Louis starts standing off the bed.

“They’re not here.”

“I can see that. What do you want to do? Is there anything you want to grab while we’re here?”

“No. Just want to leave now.”

“Okay, love. Then let’s go.”

Louis notices that Harry begins to move quickly from the house, seeming desperate to escape. When they make it back outside, Harry doesn’t turn around again to look over at the home he’s grown up in. He doesn’t give a final good bye. He doesn’t even glance over his shoulder for a last look. He keeps his eyes forward, gets in the car, and never looks back. And Louis isn’t sure if that’s because he’s trying to move on from his past, or just forget it completely.

**Harry**

Another week has passed, and Harry hasn’t done much. It’s not like before, it’s not like he’s secluding himself away from the rest of the world, and drowning in his literal misery. He’s just not up for anything. He comes out with Zayn, Liam, and Niall when they want to go to the park, but he sits at a bench instead of plays. He makes Louis dinner every night, but he pushes around his food more than eats. He’s trying, even though it may not seem like it, he really is. He wants to be happy, he wants to be there and a part of the fun, but…that’s just not anything he can mentally manage right now.

On top of all of this, there’s also Louis. Louis who Harry can’t even begin to wrap his head around. Louis has been on hand and foot for Harry this whole time, and it’s really throwing him for a loop. Especially because Harry has never had someone genuinely care about him, and it’s so apparent that Louis does, but Harry just doesn’t know how to handle that. Louis is caring, charming, wealthy, and a whole-heartedly amazing person, and Harry…he’s not. And he has no idea what to make of any of it, or even how to respond.

And too, let’s say Harry does it. Let’s say that he shows he cares back, because let’s face it, he does. Let’s say that Harry reaches out to hold Louis’ hand like Louis does to him. Or Harry cuddles into Louis like Louis does to him. It wouldn’t be the same though. Because Louis cares about Harry as his subordinate, someone he’s supposed to be taking care of. But Harry, if he did any of that, he’d be putting his own heart on the line, because in no way, shape, or form, does Harry care about Louis as his owner. He cares about him as a person. And if he started to let little pieces of his heart show, he’d have to admit that he doesn’t care about Louis the same way that Louis cares about him. He cares about Louis like he’s never cared about anyone before. And yeah, that just can’t be.

ê ê ê ê

“Oi, oi! Harry! Tell Liam he’s being a twat.”

“Bloody hell, Niall. It’s nine in the morning. Let me sleep.”

The blond Irish lad disregards Harry’s request, and jumps on top of the bed, plopping onto him.

“Harry, tell Liam it’s not true.”

“Erm, what?”

“Liam said that Zayn doesn’t love me.”

This time, Harry props his head up quickly and turns over to see that Niall is a bit distraught. He’s not crying, but it’s apparent on his face that he’s well hurt.

“Why would he say such a thing?”

“Sometimes Liam gets insecure about Zayn’s feelings for him, and I think saying stuff to me like that makes him feel better.”

“Well if you already know it’s not true, why do you need me to say something?”

“He’s not in a good mood, Harry. He won’t listen to me.”

“Ugh, alright. But you owe me breakfast.”

Grinning, Niall nods his head approvingly and heads off towards the kitchen. Harry takes a moment to yawn and stretch his limbs, before he’s thrusting his body up off the bed. Making his way upstairs, Harry wonders if this stuff happens all the time. Liam jealous or envious of the time Zayn spends with Niall. It’s understandable, Liam was here first and had Zayn all to himself for two years, and then suddenly someone else was in the picture. Harry would not be able to share Louis, no not at all.

“Li? Liam?”

Creeping into the room, Harry looks around to find Liam face down on the bed. He takes a few nervous strides towards the other boy, before sitting down on the bed and tapping onto his back.

“Liam, everything alright?”

Liam shifts his body so that he’s looking at Harry now, and sighs.

“No.”

“What’s wrong? Is it about Niall?”

This time, Liam sits right up and gets extremely close to Harry. He starts whispering rapidly to him.

“I didn’t mean it. I never do. If Niall had said something like that to me, I’d be gutted. And I feel terrible for even saying it in the first place, but it’s so hard.”

“I understand. But you know, Niall loves you too. And I think that’s why it upsets him so much.”

Liam takes a deep breath.

“I know. I don’t know what’s come over me.”

“It’s okay, but you should probably go talk to him.”

“Yeah, yeah I will. How are you by the way? I didn’t want to ask, but you’ve seemed a bit off.”

“Yea, I erm…went back home. Well, with Louis. I saw my old house. My family wasn’t there, ‘s bit hard.”

Silence slips carelessly between them, Liam looking at Harry, Harry looking anywhere other than Liam. At least twenty seconds pass before Liam says anything in response.

“You know, it’s never easy. For whatever reasons you’ve gone through the system, that’s your own issue that you’re going to have to go through, but the being bought, being placed in a new home with some complete stranger…I understand that. Niall understands that. And we’re both here for you, to help you get through that part.”

“Thank you, mate.”

“No need to thank me, we’re brothers now. And I’m serious too. I missed my family a lot when I first came here, and then thankfully Zayn allowed me to keep in contact with them. It’s still not the same, but I see them and that’s enough for me. I’m sure whatever it is that you want, or need, Louis would do the same for you. You just have to know what to ask for.”

“I don’t know what to ask for. I’m not sure I even know what I want, at this point.”

“And that’s okay. But maybe if somethings been bothering you a lot, you should spend some time thinking about it.”

“You’ve got really great advice, by the way.”

“Doesn’t happen often, but I try.”

The boys chuckle at each other as the atmosphere lightens in the room, and then without warning, Liam pulls Harry into a burly hug. As Harry holds back, he thinks about how he’s never known what it’s like to have a brother, but he imagines it’s an awful lot like this.

**Louis**

“Fifteen! Sixteen! Seventeen, keep going! Eighteen! Nineteen! Twenty! Take a rest!”

Louis drops the weights on the ground, and takes a few steps around the room, trying to replenish the oxygen in his lungs. Training day is always his least favorite out of the week. Probably because he has to spend it with one of his least favorite people.

“Tommo! You’ve been busy so I haven’t seen you much, but seems you’ve been keeping up alright.”

“Thanks.”

“You know, I’ve been meaning to ask you, but how did you end up getting jumped in the first place?”

Internally debating, Louis questions whether he should answer the question or not. He supposes it can’t hurt to say some stuff about the event, as long as he’s not answering exactly who did it. Simon.

“I was uncovering critical information in destroying another man’s career. He felt threatened and sent his goons out to get me.”

“Damn, Tommo. Didn’t know you had that in you.”

“Yes, Tim. I don’t let people get away with interfering in my family or business.”

“Huh. Duly noted.”

As Louis takes a long swig of water, he notes happily to himself.  _Karma comes around, it always does._

ê ê ê ê

It’s Sunday morning, and Louis is waking up to Harry folding his arms around Louis’ waist. They’ve always cuddled into each other, but they’ve never reached any limbs around one another’s bodies. Louis peers his head to see Harry, but finds that the younger boy’s fast asleep. So clearly, he’s not aware he’s done this. Which is both a good thing and a bad thing. It’s a good thing, because when Louis skootches closer into Harry and maybe wraps his leg around one of Harry’s, the green-eyes beauty isn’t awake to know that it’s happened or done on purpose. However, it’s also a bad thing for the same reason. Harry’s asleep, and therefore, won’t know that this is happening, and so only Louis will get to appreciate this moment while Harry will never know it even occurred.

ê ê ê ê

Louis wakes up later on in the day, to find that Harry has gotten out of bed and made him breakfast. Fond. Fond. Fond. Always fonding over that boy, as Louis sits down and smiles to himself about how much he wants to thank Harry with a kiss. A second later, Harry sits down next to Louis at the kitchen table, starting to eat into the bagel he’s made for himself, too.

“Harry?”

“Yes, Lou?”

“What do you feel like doing today?”

Harry chews languidly on his food, while he takes the time think about his answer.

“I’m not entirely sure. I’d like to go out.”

“Same. You know what, I have to grab a few things from my office, why don’t we stop there first, and then we can figure out where we want to go once we’ve gotten what I need.”

“That’s fine.”

The boys finish their food soon after, taking the time to shower and get dressed before they exit the room, and head out to the car. Once in the Range Rover, Louis turns the radio on, and they hum along to the songs as they make their way to his office.

**Harry**

“Hey, you’ve never been to my office before, have you?”

“No, this is my first time.”

“Cool, I can give you a quick tour, if you’d like?”

“Sure.”

Louis parks the car, and they both hop out, casually making their way to the glass doors that lead inside the tall building. Harry trail behind Louis, repeating his steps as they walk towards the elevators, and take it to the twentieth floor.

“Right so, this is pretty much where the majority of our people work, here in these cubicles. Often times, they’re the ones on the phones with our clients, or potential investments. Over here is where Eleanor works, that office down there is my father’s, but we don’t have to see that, and this right here is my office.”

Louis opens a black door into a private room. It’s a modern, simple office, nothing personalized other than a name plate, that would suggest this office even belonged to Louis.

“Nice.”

“Yep, my home away from home. You can peek around if you want, I just need to find these papers, and then we’ll be on our way.”

As stated, Louis begins riffling through some folders in a filing cabinet he has, searching for something clearly important. Harry decides to take this time to look around more closely, examining the items in this room. There’s nothing spectacular, just some books, a desktop, some papers on his desk. Which…by the way…have Simon’s name on them.  _Don’t look. Don’t look. Don’t look!_ No matter how many times Harry tries to tell himself that, he can’t ignore the way his body automatically shifts forward, and his eyes focus downwards.

“Lou…why do have paperwork on Simon Cowell?”

The question slips out, leaving Harry no chance to take it back. He shouldn’t have asked. He essentially just admitted that he was snooping at Louis’ papers.

“Oh, that? I’ve been working on this case for a while. I know I told you that I knew him, but I don’t know if I ever told you the whole story.”

“I know you mentioned that you knew him through business partnerships.”

“Well, that’s not wrong. My father and Simon go way back; they were actually fraternity brothers in the same college. My father was a bit older than Simon, but that’s beside the point. So a few years later, my father business is started up, and goes to a party fairly similar to the kind Mr. Pritchard just had, and happens to see none other than Simon Cowell there. As I’m sure you could tell, these parties are highly exclusive, meaning not just anyone can make an appearance.”

“But Simon didn’t start SYCO until about ten years ago.”

“Right, well back then, he had started up another business. It was coincidentally, very similar to Tomlinson Enterprises, the same concept of investing in other businesses and so on. For a while they had become major competitors, and then my father invested into a few really great opportunities, and our company took off. After that, people refused to work with Simon and his business went under, causing him to go bankrupt.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. Anyways, years later Simon starts up SYCO, and is basically a certified loan shark. Simon had even come back around, asking my father to invest in his new business. My father said no, and ever since that day, Simon has had it out for him. And somehow, Simon’s business took off, and he managed to steal nearly five of our biggest clients, all causing them to drop their contracts with us. We have no idea how he managed that, or has continued to be successful, and my father basically put me on the job in trying to find dirt on him to shut the business down.”

“You’re going to take down SYCO?”

“Yeah. We know from whispers that they’ve been laundering money. We also know he’s been blackmailing some of the most elite figures, but we’re just not sure why. There’s too many questions that I can’t find answers to…how is he getting the money? Why does he need to blackmail these people? What’s he getting in return? There’s something else going on behind SYCO’s doors, and I’m just trying to find out.”

“He’s running a brothel.”

Louis chokes, eyes bulging out of his head.

“Harry! Why would you assume something like that?”

“Remember how I said my mum worked with Simon?”

This is the most information Harry can do. He can’t give it all away. He just can’t. Instead, he’ll only help Louis a little, because it could mean helping Harry out in the end, too. Destroying Simon would be the single greatest accomplishment he has and will ever do. But, Harry still can’t tell Louis the full story yet as to why it’s important to him, also. That…that will just have to wait for now.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“But that…that would make sense. If the big business people are being blackmailed, it’s probably with the evidence of them sleeping with prostitute’s.”

Harry winces at the word, Louis doesn’t notice.

“Most likely.”

“And that would be where he’s getting the money from. They pay to get laid, Simon then takes the money and puts it into his business. I’m not sure where he’s putting the money or how that all really works, but he comes out looking like a successful business man, when in reality he’s just…”

“A pimp.”

“Right! Holy hell Harry, had I known that you would have been able to help me like this, I would have asked weeks ago!”

Harry chuckles, pretending that the subject isn’t sore for him.

“You’re still going to have to find the physical evidence to prove that, but at least now you know what to look for.”

Louis runs over and holds Harry tightly. It’s so abrupt and dramatic that Harry giggles into Louis’ neck.

“I’m so happy right now, I could kiss you.”

Wait...what? Louis’ words hang in the room, and neither boys dares to move a muscle. Harry wants him to do it. Harry’s been trying to suppress all that he’s been feeling towards the older lad, but if Louis is offering, then he wants him to do it. And honestly, how could he possibly say no?

“Maybe you should.”

**Louis**

Harry’s rugged voice melts over the silence like honey, and oozes into Louis’ heart. Louis didn’t mean to say what he had, but if this is confirmation that Harry wants him to, how could he say possibly no? So Louis pulls back, keeping his arms around Harry’s neck and he looking up into the boy’s eyes, searching for any hesitation or waiver in his decision. The boy looks curious, but he’s not timid, or shy, and that’s enough for Louis to know that he is okay with what he agreed to.

It’s not Louis’ first time kissing ever, but it’s his first time kissing Harry, and somehow that feels the same. He’s giddy, unsure of how to approach Harry, or how he should move. He’s staring up at the boy’s perfect luscious lips, and in his mind he’s analyzing a million ways he can go about this.  _Just breathe you idiot, or you’ll ruin the moment._ So that’s what Louis does, he breathes and then he inches closer, teasing Harry’s lips with the lightest of kisses. Once Harry reacts and leans back into him, then Louis presses forward, pushing harder into Harry who tastes like bubblegum to Louis’ mouth.

Despite how incredible Harry feels, and the fluttering in Louis’ stomach that can’t seem to stop, Louis pulls away first. He’s wanted to kiss this boy for so long, but…Harry has rarely showed a similar interest, and he’d hate for Harry to be kissing him because he’s his owner and he should. He’d want Harry to kiss him because Harry wants to, so Louis pulls back. When they step apart from each other, a cold chill ghosts across Louis’ chest where Harry’s warmth had been. He doesn’t like how it feels, but he grins through it, quickly bringing up something random to talk about to avoid the onslaught of awkwardness.

“Did you ever figure out what you wanted to do for today?”

“I…erm, no.”

“How about we just get take out and a rent a movie? I’m feeling kinda tired.”

Louis can’t pretend that he doesn’t notice the way Harry reacts initially, clearly upset at the idea, but then swiftly retracts his frown.

“Okay, fine with me.”

Harry starts to walk away, but Louis grabs onto his hand, and spinning him around.

“You alright, love?”

At first, Harry looks unsure, but then a tiny smile appears upon his lips.

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“Okay, let’s go home.”

As they make their way out, Louis grips into Harry’s hand harder, and prays that he did not just fuck everything up.

ê ê ê ê

“Mr. Tomlinson, your father’s on line one. Also, the meeting that was set up for three forty-five, they just called asking if they could reschedule it, so you’ll be free this afternoon.”

“Okay, El. I trust you to find a time that is both suitable for my schedule and theirs, in planning the next meeting. Also, I’ll probably take the rest of the day off, after speaking with my father.”

“Sounds good, sir. I’ll be sure to inform anyone who calls from here on out.”

“Thanks.”

Louis switches the line over, and before he’s even finished saying hello, his father is talking.

“My boy! I heard your message, what’s this good news you were going on about?”

“You’ll never guess what I’ve uncovered.”

“Don’t make me wait, you know how much I despise such petty games.”

“Yes, sorry. So the last time we had any credible documents on Simon, we weren’t even able to analyze them before he had me jumped, and stole back all the files we’d found. However, I’ve got a friend who told me something, that is most likely the same information that we would have found in those files. Father…Simon’s running a brothel.”

“What?”

“Yes, I don’t know how it all works or the exact details yet, but my guess is that this is how he’s blackmailed some of our previous clients, and other’s.”

“Louis, this is great and all, but you’re going to have to prove this.”

“I know, I’m looking into all that, but know I’m aware of what’s occurring.”

“Just be careful, son. Don’t even talk to me over the phone about this anymore. Next time you find something we’ll meet in my office.”

“Sure, father.”

“Simon’s going down. Oh how I have longed for this day.”

ê ê ê ê

Getting to leave early was a nice change of pace for Louis. He had a lot on his mind lately, and he’d been intending to catch up with Zayn but time escaped him. All in all, Louis needs his best mate. By the time Louis made it home, he walked in to find Niall, Liam, and Harry, all sitting on the living room couch, watching some show. Harry turned around, and scrunched his eyebrows in confusion at the sight of Louis.

“I didn’t know you were going to be home early today.”

“I wasn’t supposed to be, but my meeting was canceled so I left. Zayn here?”

Niall turns around, responding faster than Harry could.

“Yeah! He’s upstairs!”

As Louis takes off his shoes, he looks over at the three boys one last time. It’s very comforting to him, to know that Harry has friends in this house that he can go and hang out with while Louis is at work. It’s also nice to know, that he has someone to talk to, that understands where he’s coming from a lot more than Louis can. As silly as it sounds, it fills Louis’ heart with such gratitude and appreciation for Niall and Liam.

Walking briskly up the flight of stairs, Louis doesn’t wait to knock on the door as he enters into Zayn’s room. The raven haired boy is sitting on his bed, fooling around with what seems to be paint colors, and brushes.

“Zaynie! I need help!”

Louis plops down on the bed beside Zayn who chuckles, and then moves his stuff off and onto the floor.

“What’s wrong, boo bear?”

“It’s Harry.”

“Oh no, what happened?”

“No, nothing like that. I…I kissed him yesterday.”

Expecting to be reprimanded, Louis squeezes his eyes shut, waiting for the sharp words or a slap. When nothing happens, Louis opens his eyes to Zayn curiously.

“What? Am I supposed to be mad about that? It’s about damn time.”

“But… but he hasn’t made any moves towards me like I have to him. And I’m afraid…”

“Of?”

“What if he only kissed me back because I’m his owner? What if everything he does is because he feels like he has to? Not because he wants to?”

“Louis, that is rubbish and you know it.”

“I don’t!”

“If you’re so sure that that’s how he sees you, then why don’t you just ask him yourself?”

“Because, I don’t need to ask something I already know the answer to.”

“You’re acting childish.”

Louis huffs, and sits up on the bed, leaning into his arms for support.

“So you think I should just ask him, yeah?”

“Yes.”

“Why couldn’t I think of that meself?”

“Because you’re you.”

“Don’t be a twat.”

Zayn giggles, and then leans in to Louis, who chides in again.

“Ugh, what would I do without you, Zayn?”

“You’d be dead. So…you’re really gone for him, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I am.”

“It’s nice, you know, to see you care about someone. You used to always come off like you were bored, and now you’re emotional, reckless, passionate. It’s a nice change on you.”

“I feel unhinged. Half the time I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing, and the other half I’m taking a guess.”

“And that’s how it should be. You can’t live your life planning out your next steps, you’ve got to live in the moment.”

“Okay there, Robert Frost.”

“I’m just saying, just do it. Don’t wait.”

“Fine, fine.”

“I love you, boo.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know when my presence is no longer wanted.”

Zayn smiles fondly as Louis laughs before waving and exiting the room. Now all that’s left is the hard part…attempting to talk to Harry. Louis personally feels like he should be waiting until tonight to have this conversation, but he knows that the longer he waits, the more anxious he’s going to get. He wants to establish things, clear the air, making sure there aren’t any other confusions. As he walks down the stairs, and is about to hit the last step, he has a final thought in his head.  _This isn’t going to be easy._

ê ê ê ê

“Everything okay, Lou?”

Standing in their bedroom, Louis is pacing around the floor as Harry stands dumbfounded. Sure, Louis asked if Harry wouldn’t mind coming in the other room so they could talk. Sure, he did come off more business-like than Louis intended to. But he panicked, and now Louis is afraid that Harry thinks he’s upset with him, which he’s not, not even close.

“No! No, love. I just want to talk to you about something. Sorry, let’s sit on the bed.”

Harry sits next to Louis, who is now fidgeting with his fingers to keep himself from going crazy.

“Alright…so what do you want to talk about?”

_You can do this. You can do this._

“Harry, you know how we uhm, we uhm kissed, yesterday?”

Nodding, Harry’s cheeks burn a pinky-red.

“Okay, so I just want to bring it up again because I want to make sure that we both know where we stand. I…I don’t want you to do anything because you feel like you have to. I know that I technically have your freedom, but I don’t want you to worry about that. If you want to do something, or don’t want to do something, it should be your choice to make. Not mine.”

“I don’t understand what that has to do with the kiss.”

“I just don’t want you kissing me because I want to kiss you. I want you to want to do that, not because you feel like you have to.”

“So you’re saying, that you think, that I only kissed you because I felt I had to?”

“Love, I’m not saying that’s what I think, I’m just making sure that there’s no misunderstandings here. If you don’t want to kiss me, you have every right to say no. And if you do want to kiss me, then that’s great also.”

“Well to be honest, I don’t know what I’m thinking right now.”

“Okay, that’s fair.”

It’s coming on sudden, but Harry’s growing frustrated and Louis isn’t sure why.

“I just…I just don’t think it’s fair for you to say all that, when you’re only kissing me because I’m your sub.”

“Wha…what? What are you on about?”

Harry stands up off the bed this time, clearly aggravated.

“You always do little things all the time, and it’s totally cause you feel like you have to take care of me, but I don’t think you would do half the same stuff if I was just Harry and you didn’t own me.”

“That is absolutely ridiculous. Do you hear what’s coming out of your mouth?”

“Yes! And it hurts because I’m a person too, and I care and I have feelings, and if I start to fall for you, you’re still only going to think of me as your subordinate.”

Furious. Louis is furious. How could Harry think such things? Louis has been completely taken by him since the moment his eyes laid upon the younger lad, and not once, not a single fucking second, did Louis  _ever_  think about Harry as his ‘subordinate.’ Why would he ever think that?

“Harry, I’m going to try and talk to you as calmly as I can, before this blows way out of proportion. Not once…not a single fucking moment, have I ever thought of you as anything other than Harry. I have not looked at you since the moment I saw you on stage, or thought about you, as someone I own. Never. You mean a lot to me, and I would never degrade you or think so lowly of you.”

“So when you hold my hand, or cuddle me…”

“It’s because I want to, not because I feel like I need to take care of you since you’re my subordinate, or whatever word, I fucking hate those terms.”

“And when you kissed me?”

“I had been wanting to do that since the day we met.”

Louis can’t keep his eyes held on Harry because it’s too much. Confessing is hard enough, he can’t be looking at Harry while he does it too. So he’s keeping his eyes focused on the ground, until he hears Harry start walking up to him. The minute that Louis raises his head again to see what’s happening, Harry’s mouth is connecting to Louis’ lips, and he’s totally, completely, caught off guard.

This kiss is more deliberate than the last, and all of Harry’s moves are calculated. He’s pushing into Louis, biting on Louis’ bottom lip, sucking on his tongue. Louis can hardly keep up with Harry as he traces his lips below Louis’, and starts kissing down to his neck.

“Mhmm, Harry…”

Louis moans out Harry’s name at the sensation of Harry sucking on his neck, and in return, he nervously reaches his hands around Harry’s waist, squeezing into his hips. The moment is beyond heated and Louis is ready to give Harry all that he wants, when unfortunately…severely unfortunately, there’s a knock on the door.

“Oi, lads? You up for going out tonight?”

Niall is yelling through the walls as Harry stops kissing and cocks his head curiously towards Louis, looking at him for an answer.

“Well, Harry, do you want to go?”

“Erm, sure. Why not?”

“Then it’s settled.”

**Harry**

The night sky stretches for miles past the horizon, blanketing Harry’s world in it’s cool darkness. As the five boys, all dressed in their most club-like attire, make their way to their driver’s car, Harry inhales the dewy forest air and feels bulletproof. Since their kiss earlier, Louis has found a way to touch Harry every chance he gets, and Harry is unconditionally basking in it. Louis wants him., he actually wants him.

As they glide past the bouncers like celebrities, not being stopped for names or I.D.’s, the boys enter into the club and Harry is immediately breathless. Music is pounding throughout the walls, vibrating in his bones; there are dancers every corner, moving around to the rhythm of the songs; there are people moving left and right to engage in some kind of intimacy, and everything is shrouded in sex. Pulled from his observing, Harry brings his focus back as they are shown by a waiter to a table in the VIP section. Zayn stops to shakes hands with a few of the patrons at surrounding tables, and Harry notes that he must come here frequently.

“What do you want to drink, love?”

Louis’ lips caress the side of Harry’s ear as he whispers into him.

“Erm…amaretto sour, please.”

Louis smirks, and then presses his lips against Harry’s cheek for a sweet, but quick kiss, before sauntering off with Zayn to get drinks. When Harry finally comes crashing back down from cloud nine, he turns his head to find Liam and Niall, with their jaws wide open. Harry chuckles awkwardly, and then questions them immediately.

“What?”

Before the word is even fully out, Niall is yelling back.

“Don’t ‘what’ us! When did this happen?”

“When did what happened?”

“You and Louis, ya cunt!”

Giggles erupt from Harry, ‘you and Louis’ stirs like warm honey in his heart, sticky and sweet.

“Well, he kissed me yesterday.”

Now Liam is the one to interject.

“And you didn’t think to tell us? I nearly had a heart attack when he turned to kiss you just now!”

“Sorry! I didn’t even think about it.”

Niall responds again animatedly.

“Next time, just give a lad a warning or something! But enough about that…how’s the sex?”

Liam thankfully intercepts before Harry has to worry about answering.

“Bloody hell, Niall, you can’t just ask him that!”

“What? It’s a fair question!”

The two boys start arguing, but it doesn’t last long as Louis and Zayn make their way back to the table.

“Didn’t mean to be gone so long love, hope you didn’t miss me too much.”

Harry grins wildly as he grabs his drink from Louis’ hands.

“I truly didn’t think I would make it.”

This time, Louis is the one to giggle and smile like he’s literally made of stardust and sunshine. His smile is contagious, so bright and wide, and entirely genuine. Harry can’t contain himself from grinning back like an idiot.

“Let’s get these drinks in us and then maybe dance, yeah?”

“Sure thing, Lou.”

Liam and Niall start downing shots, attempting to see who can take more…clearly Niall wins, boasting about his Irish heritage never failing him. Zayn stares with doting eyes at the two boys, so obviously enamored, and Harry wonders quickly what that feels like, to love two completely separate people? Harry couldn’t, there’s no way he could handle all that he feels for Louis, and then have to add another person into the mix. Gladly, he doesn’t have to worry about that right now, instead, he lets his thoughts drift back to the club as Louis’ hands wander onto Harry’s thighs. And oh?

“What are you doing, babe?”

Louis’ eyes focus in a way that Harry has never seen, when Harry lets the word ‘babe’ slip out. It’s incredibly sexual, and Harry bites his bottom lip in response, which Louis reacts to by dragging Harry to the dance floor.

“Come on, love!”

Drawing Harry into the center of the floor, Louis tugs on his shirt, bending Harry down by his collar until Louis can reach him, and kiss him senseless. Kissing Louis feels magical as Harry’s lips buzz in every spot that Louis spreads across his skin. It’s like wildfire, engulfing every cell that it burns and soothes over. Harry wants to feel Louis’ heat on every inch of his desperate body, feel as Louis takes him over, kiss by kiss. Too soon for Harry’s liking, Louis and his lips depart from Harry and spin around, Louis looks back to give a playful smile before he presses himself up against Harry so forceful that Harry almost falls over.

At this point, the music and the alcohol have started to have a funny effect on Harry. He feels light, as if he could morph into a bubble and float to the sky. With Louis now pressing into him, and grinding into his steadily growing cock, Harry can only take so much more before he’s sure to cum on himself, so after only ten minutes of some hardcore dancing, Harry steps away and pulls Louis along with him.

“What’s wrong, love?”

Harry’s not sure what’s gotten into him, probably the five drinks he consumed just a few moments ago, because all at once, his eyes start to well up.

“I can’t say.”

Louis visibly panics, his blue eyes widening in the sudden fear.

“Harry, Harry, love, what’s the matter? You can tell me anything.”

Staring up into Harry’s eyes, Louis’ expression only makes Harry feel worse because it’s so evident that he’s truly worried for the younger boy. Harry tries to look away, but then takes a deep breath and speaks again.

“I was…gonna cum.”

Harry’s cheeks flush with embarrassment, and it’s apparent that Louis is initially shocked by his answer too, and then once it settles, Louis starts to chuckle.

“That’s all? Oh come here, that’s alright, darling. How are you feeling? Do you want to go home?”

Harry wipes at his drying eyes as Louis rubs along his back. With a nod of his head implying he wants to go home, Louis kisses him on the cheek, and heads to the boys to say good-bye.

**Louis**

Louis did not think it was physically possible to find more things about Harry that he’s fallen for, but as the younger inebriated boy leans his body weight into Louis in the back seat of his driver’s car, he stands corrected. Harry’s head is leaning against Louis’ chest, with his curls tickling against Louis’ chin, and his smell invading Louis’ lungs…and all Louis can do about it is smile sheepishly to himself.

The drive back from the club doesn’t take long, and it already soon passes as the two boys exit the car and walk up to the house. Once they are inside, Harry and Louis make their way to the bedroom, and Harry plops face down on top of the bedsheets without taking anything off. Louis laughs, and then walks over to the boy to at least help with taking his shoes off, because honestly, he certainly can’t sleep with ankle boots on. Just as Louis pulls them off, he makes a step away to go brush his teeth, when he hears Harry whimper.

“Harry? What was that?”

“Can you take my clothes off for me?”

Louis swallows hard, as Harry turns his body over so that he’s lying on his back, waiting patiently for Louis to answer.

“Oh, uhm, sure.”

 _You can do this. You can control yourself._ Louis walks unsurely towards Harry, and watches him carefully for any sign of discomfort.  _It’s just his clothes you bloody idiot, just do it already._ Exhaling loudly, Louis starts to move his shaking hands towards Harry’s shirt first. Grabbing onto the bottom hem of his black shirt, Louis pulls the material gently up and over Harry’s head.  _Oh fuck me._ Harry’s body is gorgeous, it’s mouth-watering. Louis tries thinking of anything else other than what lies in front of him, but it’s…hard.

Moving his hands further down, Louis’ fingers glide to Harry’s zipper, pulling on the metal with such need. Louis drools slightly, and licks his tongue on his bottom lip as he opens Harry’s button. At the barely visible view of Harry’s hips and boxers underneath, Louis is weak-kneed, but Harry watches on with such desire that Louis can’t stop. He clutches at the sides of Harry’s pants, and tugs on them teasingly slow, not wanting the moment to pass. When his pants have come all the way off, Louis folds them and starts to turn to put them in the hamper. Breathing is easier now that the request is done.

“I think you’re forgetting something.”

 _What a cheeky shit._ When Louis turns to look back at Harry, Harry’s eyes direct down at his boxers, and he bites at his lip like a cocky son of a bitch, and Louis just loses it. He was able to maintain his composure before, but his entire insides have just imploded on Harry’s expression alone. Louis tries to gather up the fragments of his mind, but he’s broken.  _Fuck it. Fuck it all to hell._ Gulping hard, Louis walks back over and decides that if Harry wants to fuck with him, he can fuck right back.

As Louis goes by the bed this time, instead of standing next to Harry, he climbs on top of him and straddles the tops of Harry’s thighs. Harry’s mouth drops open, and Louis stares back at him, hoping he looks just as cocky and confident as Harry was seeming before. It must have some effect, because Louis can feel Harry shiver under him, as Louis brings his hands to the waistline of Harry’s boxers.

“You want these off, love?”

Louis asks tauntingly, playing with the elastic as he brushes his fingers under Harry’s newly exposed skin. Harry nods profusely, but Louis just won’t have that.

“Now, now, Curly. I’m gonna need you to say it, if you want something.”

“Fuck, yes. Yes, Lou, I want you to take them off.”

“You’re still missing something.”

“Please! Please, Lou.”

“Now, that’s my good boy.”

Louis lays kisses onto Harry’s stomach and Harry moans loudly at the praise and touch. Tormenting, Louis grabs onto Harry’s boxers, pulling them down as he kisses over more and more of the skin that appears from underneath the black fabric. Harry groans from above when his hard cock is exposed, and once it is, Louis pulls the boxers off the rest of Harry’s long legs and then stands up to put them in the hamper.

“Wh…where are you going?”

“Hm?”

“You’re leaving.”

“Don’t you remember? You only asked me to take them off.”

Harry’s jaw drops. Louis waits as Harry realizes that Louis’ right, that’s all Harry asked for, and then Louis winks before turning around and heading to brush his teeth. When Louis walks back from the bathroom, Harry is already turned over on his side. So he shuts all the lights off, and slides into bed sheets. Underneath the comforter, Louis curls up next to Harry’s back, and wraps his arm around him to cuddle him in.

As Louis eyes begin to flutter closed, and his minds steadily drifts to sleep, he thinks happily to himself,  _Harry is going to be the death of me._

ê ê ê ê

The bubble in which Louis lived this past weekend was only temporary, and all too soon, reality popped his dream and shoved Louis back at work early Monday morning. Most of Louis’ work revolved around Simon nowadays, Louis’ actual work pushed aside to other associates, giving him the chance to focus on his father’s most important issue. While Harry’s point about the brothel was a good hint as to the underlying workings of Simon’s company, it still wasn’t enough evidence to prove his business was corrupt. Of course, his father could easily hire a private investigator whose trained and certified in this type of work, but he wants his ‘golden son,’ to prove his worth in his company. Plus, Louis has a personal vendetta to end Simon’s career so it works out both ways.

_Ring. Ring. Ring._

“Mr. Tomlinson speaking.”

“Hi, Mr. Tomlinson, you emailed me saying you wanted me to stop by? Can I come now?”

“Yes, Eleanor, head over now if you will.”

Just moments after Louis hangs up the phone, Eleanor is knocking on his office door and entering in. She smiles, closes the door behind her, and takes a seat directly in front of his desk. She looks nervous, but Louis returns the content gesture, hoping to reassure her that there’s nothing to worry about.

“Eleanor, I asked you in here today because I need some help with an assignment I’ve been given. It’s confidential information, which means I can’t tell you anything about it. Until you sign a non-disclosure agreement. The agreement will state that you understand any and all discourse discussed within the confinement of this office, cannot under any circumstances, be mentioned once you leave my doors. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Mr. Tomlinson, I fully understand the agreement.”

Gliding the form over, Eleanor takes the sheet and signs her name at the bottom. After handing it back, Louis places it to the side of his desk, and folds his hands together.

“Great. I trust you Eleanor, and that’s why I am only allowing you to be a part of this. Simon Cowell is running a dirty business, and my father has assigned me to uncover the issues that are lurking beneath SYCO. Unfortunately, I haven’t uncovered much, and that’s where I am going to need your help. Before I tell you anything more, I want to know that you want to, and are willing, to work with me on this.”

She nods her head in affirmation, while she also verbally making her statement.

“I’d be honored to.”

“Thank you. So to continue on from where I left off, Simon’s business is corrupt, and I need to find out how. I was given a hint by a person I trust very much, stating that Simon runs a brothel, which would make sense as to how he’s been able to black mail our past partners into ending their contracts with us. However, I need evidence to prove this, and it’s been extremely difficult trying to find it.”

“I guess the thing that we need to figure out, is how it all connects though sir, right? How does a brothel benefit a company such as SYCO, which offers loans to nearly everyone? There has to be a connection, a line that brings together those two that makes everything flow.”

“That’s an excellent idea, El. I’m just not sure how to go about finding such a thing.”

“To be honest, Mr. Tomlinson, it’s highly likely that Simon has hired people to cover up all his traces. Looking into his files and paperwork will probably lead you nowhere. If you’re going to properly out him and his business, your best way to do it is go undercover or something.”

“I’ve thought about that, but Simon would recognize me in a heartbeat.”

“Well, do you know anyone he wouldn’t? We could even hire a private investigator, who would be more qualified for finding this information than us.”

“My father wants me to be the one to figure this out though. If I hire someone, it would be like cheating.”

“I wouldn’t think of it that way, sir. Getting help is often the only way to achieve, most things can’t be done alone.”

It doesn’t take long for Louis to acknowledge that she’s right. This isn’t something Louis is trained in, he is out of his depth in trying to do this, and asking for help isn’t a crime. If he wants to get this done, and soon, he’s going to need assistance. It also just so happens that Louis has the perfect person to call.

“Okay, El. You’re right. Why don’t you give Mr. Corden a call, yeah? I think he’ll be ecstatic to know I’m in need of his services.”

“On it, sir.”

**Harry**

“Whatcha doing?”

“I’m making Louis dinner…Niall, do not think about touching this.”

Niall smirks as he steps into the kitchen, taking a seat at the table while watching Harry move about cooking the food.

“So, how’s that going? You two lovebirds were all snuggly yesterday.”

“You’re so nosy!”

“As your best mate, I deserve the right to know!”

It’s funny that Niall would just dub himself that title, but at the same time, Harry realizes that Niall and Liam really are his best friends. He never was close to anyone growing up before his parents split, he had friends in school but no one he hung out with. After his family moved, and once everything started to happen, he just kept to himself instead of allowing anyone in. He’s fucked around sexually a bit, but even then…he’s never had a friend.

“You’re right Niall, I’ve forgotten my best mate duties.”

“You’re damn right, you have!”

Harry chuckles loudly, as he pours Italian spices into the pasta he’s making.

“Okay, so all we’ve done is kiss.”

“Liar.”

“I swear it! He hasn’t attempted to do anything else, and I’m going stir crazy. I don’t know if I should wait for him to make the next move, or if I should just make it again myself.”

“You made the move last time?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Then no. Let him come to you. But that doesn’t mean you can’t tease him or persuade him into making the move.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, when you take your clothes off, maybe do a strip tease? Or rub your hands ‘accidentally’ on places he’d like. Subtle, but effective.”

“That’s not bad.”

“I have my moments. Now give me some of your pasta and we’ll call it even.”

“Never mind, I take it back.”

Niall laughs loudly as he reaches for some food and Harry swats him away.

ê ê ê ê

“Harry, that pasta was amazing. Thank you again for making it.”

Louis is walking towards the bedroom as they are heading off to sleep. Dinner went by well, except that when Harry tried to be subtle yet sexy, he accidently choked on the fork he was trying to suck off. So that didn’t work. However, there’s still tonight, and as they go into the room, Harry remembers Niall mentioning to do a strip tease of sorts. That should work, and there’s nothing life threatening about taking off pants.

“I’m gonna read for a bit, but let me know if you want me to shut the lights off. Don’t want them to keep you up.”

“Okay, Lou.”

This is perfect. Louis is perched on top of the sheets, legs extending straight across the bed, and he takes his iPad out to start scanning through articles. This way, once Louis notices, he’ll have a perfect view of Harry. Tugging at the buttons on his shirt, Harry starts to slowly undo them, one by one. He keeps peeking his eyes up at Louis, who hasn’t started to notice anything yet. This just supplies Harry with more confidence, more desire in getting Louis’ attention.

Harry pulls apart the sides of his shirt once the buttons have been undone, to show his chest and stomach. He rubs against his skin a bit, before slowly pulling off the shirt completely. Once his torso is bare, he looks up to see that Louis’ attention has changed to focus on him, quizzically.  _Good_ , Harry thinks. Next, he begins to play with the hem of his pants, and when he goes to unzip his zipper, he keeps his eyes firmly held to Louis, watching him watch Harry. Harry even licks his bottom lip and bites it, just for good measure, as he slowly pulls apart his pants. Louis eyes are locked, maintaining their attention on Harry and every move he makes.

Typically, Harry would fumble under the pressure of being watched, but not now. He’s in his prime, glowing in the bedroom light that dances across his skin, and charging from the heat radiating between the worked up boys. As Harry starts to palm himself outside of his boxers, Louis looks hungry, and Harry…well, Harry wants to feed him.

“Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

Louis’ voice pulls Harry from the dreamlike trance he was in, but it doesn’t diminish his desire for Louis. He wants him, he wants him in the worst way, and he just wants Louis to see that.

“How am I possibly doing that, Lou?”

Harry draws out ‘Lou’ in a raspy, breathy way, that nearly sounds like he’s moaning already, and Louis eyes go dark. Harry keeps palming himself, rubbing at his hard cock while Louis starts to purposefully move from the bed. He’s coming close, crawling across the sheets until he’s at the end of the bed, sitting down on the edge with Harry standing exactly in front of him. Harry stops breathing.

“You’ve been a bad boy, haven’t you? Did I tell you that you could touch yourself?”

Lightening shatters against Harry’s bones and he’s shaking from the electricity of needing Louis. Choking on words, Harry just watches Louis, forgetting how to even speak anymore as the older boy pushes his hands away.

“If you want something love, you’re going to have to ask for it.”

“I want you, Lou.”

“You have me.”

“I want you…I want you to touch me.”

“How?”

“However you want. I want to please you.”

“Oh, love. You will.”

“Yeah?”

“God, yes.”

Louis stands up and melts his lips against Harry’s, kissing into Harry as if it were the only way Louis could breathe. Each kiss pressed onto Harry is filled with passion, desire, a craving that is just barely being satisfied. Harry stands still, only allowing his lips to move in response to Louis’ actions, waiting for Louis to take the initiative.

“Harry, love, I want you to get on the bed and lie down on your back.”

Without a second thought, Harry moves on top of the covers and sprawls himself out.

“You’re such a good boy for me. My good, pretty boy.”

It’s strange, but Harry fills up with the happiest sensation, surging through his veins with such force and energy that it actually shocks Harry. He never thought being praised would make him feel so good, but fuck, the way Louis’ wet lips and flushed cheeks let the words fall out, Harry can’t deny it. He’s a straight goner.

As Harry does his best not to move, Louis starts to imprint tiny kisses against Harry’s torso, leaving a trail of hot and cold stains across his skin. Trying to keep quiet, but Harry let’s out a breathy moan that erupts from somewhere deep inside, and even Louis looks up, please with himself.

“That feel good, love?”

“So good.”

Smirking, Louis kisses Harry one last time on his left hip, and then takes off his pants so fast Harry hardly even notices, except for the spring of his cock against his belly from the quick movement.

“Fuck, you’re so big.”

“Is that okay?”

“More than. Now stay still for me love, alright?”

“Yeah.”

Exhaling soft puffs of air, Harry keeps his eyes trained on Louis, and does everything in his willpower to not move a muscle. Louis then bends down, body hovering over Harry’s cock patiently, teasingly, and Harry just waits. It’s certainly entertaining for Louis to watch Harry fall apart from just the anticipation of what’s to come, it’s so apparent on his face that he’s enjoying his work, but there’s more to it. There’s just a hint of nerves, Harry can tell, and Harry feels it too, rising within himself. This is the first time they’re going further than a kiss, and for both of them, this means more than just being intimate. This means they care, and that’s the scariest part about it all. Because Harry is not only willingly letting Louis take him over, he’s willingly letting Louis take his heart. So in short, he’s fucked, and in more ways than just one.

**Louis**

Louis’ heart is stammering like a wild, erratic, hummingbird in his chest. He’s trying to stay cool, he’s trying to refrain from showing that he’s anything but confident right now, but he’s out of his element. Every ounce of muscle in his body is shaking with nerves, and he’s not doing a very good job of hiding it. Harry is gorgeous, he’s so beautiful, and it kills Louis even more that he’s so compliant with everything Louis says.  _How is he even real,_ Louis wonders incredulously?

Inching closer, Louis lightly grasps Harry’s cock within his hand, and Harry lets out a loud intake of breath that sends violent shivers throughout Louis’ spine.  _He is so fucking gorgeous._ With his hand wrapped around, he slightly twists his wrist and pulls, causing Harry to buck up his hips into the motion.

“Now, now love, what did I say about moving?”

“Sorry, Lou.”

Harry fucking says it all soft and bashful, and Louis is done. He’s done. He’s flying on a plane and heading to Africa because this boy has just ruined him with the sound of his voice, and if he hears it again he’ll surely combust. So he needs to go. Leave now before he’s officially destroyed. But…Louis won’t, because first off, how could he leave the position he’s in? Secondly, Louis has always had a kink for living recklessly, and what’s more reckless than putting your life in the hands of the person that could kill it?

“That’s okay, baby. You’re doing so good for me, yeah?”

Harry doesn’t respond, and Louis takes this chance to move again. As his hand starts sliding up and down, Louis leans his face forward and licks a long strip against Harry’s cock. Harry moans loudly ahead, giving Louis more incentive to continue. As his hand pumps Harry’s shaft, Louis mouth takes in his tip and sucks on the head, licking it with his tongue while sucking it between his lips.

“Ughh, god, Lou. That….that feels so…”

Louis takes Harry in further, which causes Harry to cut off himself with loud grunts and gasps. Smiling, Louis bobs his head back and forth across Harry, taking him in all the way and pulling him out again. Louis then speeds up the process, adding his hands back in to rub the area below Louis’ mouth, and then Louis looks up at Harry. When their eyes meet, they stay locked on each other for a long time, until Harry starts panting words out.

“Lou…’m gonna…”

He doesn’t finish before Louis feels Harry cumming down his throat, and Louis swallows every ounce with pride.

“Fuck, Lou, that…that was so good.”

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Louis stands up, skin flushed and lips plump.

“Hopefully that satisfied you for now, don’t know how much longer I can take of you strutting yourself around here. Such a minx, you are.”

Harry’s giggles fill the room with sunshine and butterflies. Laughing into his hand until he goes to talk again.

“For now, I suppose. Do you want to get on your back?”

“No, I’m good. I…I already...”

Harry’s eyebrows arch in question as green follows Louis’ eyes curiously. Louis maintains watching as they meander down to Louis’ pants, and Harry notices the wet spots with a satisfied grin. Jokingly, Louis thinks,  _Yeah, you bloody tosser, smile at the mess you’ve made._ And the things is, Harry does, and Louis…well he really can’t help but to smile too.

ê ê ê ê

_Knock. Knock._

“Come in!”

Louis’ office opens a small amount to reveal a head of brown, wavy hair peeking in, Eleanor.

“Sorry to interrupt Mr. Tomlinson, but Mr. Corden is here to see you.”

“Please, send him right in.”

Immediately, Eleanor extends the door further, and steps aside to allow another man to enter. The man, with his short dirty blonde hair, pale blue eyes, and a prominent grin that nearly puts Harry’s to shame, enters energetically.

“Louis! So good to see you, mate.”

“James!”

The two men greet one another with handshakes on pats on the back, as Eleanor closes the door behind herself on her way out, leaving them alone. After they return their limbs to their sides, James takes a seat in the chair across from the desk, with Louis remaining standing.

“How have you been, how’s the wife?”

“She’s good, insists you need to come over for dinner soon. I don’t know why, I can’t see how she would think your good company to have around.”

Chuckling, Louis revels in the start of banter.

“Surely it’s not my incredible charm or devilishly good looks.”

“No, I think if anything it’s the bum. Now that’s a sight to behold.”

“Oh, shut up!”

“You wish! But yeah, you do look great, by the way! This is going to sound strange and completely random, but you seem happier. I can’t put my finger on it, but I’m glad to see it.”

Louis’ cheeks flush as his mind drifts to a particular someone with luscious curly locks, and pillowy pink lips.

“It’s not strange James, I am. And over a pint of beer that you’re buying me later, I’ll tell you all about it. But right now, we need to talk business.”

“I assumed as much when Eleanor called.”

“Right, so let’s get down to it. I want to end Simon Cowell’s career. I want to do this quick and soon, and I need your help. Before I continue on, I want you to sign-”

“If you’re about to ask me to sign the non-disclosure agreement, don’t. You already know my business is one hundred percent confidential, and that any form of communication held between us is already protected from when you signed the contract, the first time you hired me. Just cut to the chase here, Louis, I’ve got a long day ahead of me.”

Surrendering, Louis nods his head once, and then marches into all the information he had just confessed to Eleanor a few days prior. There’s not much, but James sits and listens to every detail that Louis conveys, waiting until the end to speak.

“So Eleanor suggested going undercover, hence why you’ve contacted me, yeah? I don’t disagree, I think that’s the best way to go about it if you want this taken care of ASAP. However, the question then is who do you want to go undercover? You’re going to need someone that’s in the industry, and someone that Simon wouldn’t be surprised to see show up. On the same note, you’re going to also want someone you trust. I don’t think there are many people like that.”

“No, there’s not. Zayn’s my best friend, but Simon knows that too. If Zayn showed up, he’d be suspicious from the start, and I’m trying to avoid making matters worse.”

“True. You know, I might have someone who I think would fit our criteria fairly well, and happens to owe me a favor. Why don’t we end here today so that I can make a few calls, and then he and I will come back tomorrow, same time?”

“Sure, sounds good, mate.”

“Oh, and Louis?”

“Hm?”

“Don’t be a stranger. You’re one of the few people I genuinely like in this industry, and it’d be nice to hear from you when you’re not just asking for favors.”

The comment warms Louis, and he smiles back with a hint of sympathy, but mostly amicable fondness towards his friend.

“Alright, James. I promise.”

**Harry**

“Liam, tell Niall to stop rubbing his face into me like he’s a cat.”

Harry yells from the couch to Liam whose walking behind them, and into the kitchen. Louis is at work, and Zayn isn’t home… just another day in the Tomlinson/Malik household.

“No can do, that’s his weird thing that he likes to do.”

Niall talks against Harry’s face, after Liam finishes.

“It’s not weird!”

Harry looks at him with concerned eyes.

“No offense, mate, but it is a bit odd.”

“Fine! I’m going up to the room. Don’t follow me!”

Niall yanks his body off of Harry and storms upstairs, leaving behind a flabbergasted Harry and an unfazed Liam.

“Don’t worry, Harry. He’s just cranky because we’re out of bacon.”

“Speaking of which, I should go to the grocery store. We’re out of a lot of things currently.”

“I’ll come with you. Oh, you should text Louis and ask if there’s anything he wants. I already know what Zayn and Niall need.”

“Good idea.”

Pulling out his phone, Harry clicks to Louis’ contact and creates a new message.

**_Hey, Lou. Going food shopping. Want anything?_ **

Harry doesn’t have to wait, instantly, there’s a response.

**w.e. u want to get is fine with me.**

**_Okay!_ **

Just as Harry is about to put his phone back away, he feels the device buzz again.

**I miss you**

_I miss you. I miss you. I miss you._ The letters lay in front of Harry, and he reads them over and over again until his face hurts from how insanely he is smiling.

**_I miss you too .xx_ **

ê ê ê ê

“Look, love, I know that I’ve been busy and not giving you a lot of attention recently, but for the next few days I’m going to be busier than ever, and I won’t be able to call or text. I don’t want you to think I’m ignoring you, because I would never, but I’m just letting you know now.”

Harry is tucking himself into bed, as Louis throws his clothes off, dumping them into the hamper.

“What’s happening at works that’s so time consuming?”

As Harry asks the question, Louis moves the sheets up and slides into the other side of the bed, but keeps facing Harry so they can look at each other while they’re talking.

“Working on the Simon case.”

“How is that going?”

“It’s getting there. I hired a friend whose a private investigator of sorts, and we’re coming up with a plan.”

“Is there anything you need help with?”

“No, darling. I’m good. I just need you to not go out unless your with me or the other boys. I want you safe, and it scares me to think that I can’t always protect you.”

Sighing loudly, Harry rolls his eyes blatantly for Louis to see.

“I don’t need to be protected.”

“I know. I know. Just, promise me you won’t go too far while I’m at work?”

Louis holds his focus on Harry, defeating him with the firm gaze of his blinding blue eyes.

“Promise.”

After the promise is made, Louis’ whole expression changes to pure excitement.

“That’s my good boy.”

However, internally Harry doesn’t feel like a ‘good boy,’ because he doesn’t feel like sitting idly by while Louis is busy doing the hard work. Harry wants to be involved in taking down Simon, he wants to have a part in ruining the man’s career, but Louis can’t possibly understand why Harry would want to ruin the man so bad, when Harry still hasn’t told Louis the biggest secret he’s kept. And while it upsets Harry that he can’t do anything about it, he’d rather sit miserable with his secret, than just hand it over to Louis. It’s the last thing Harry has that’s just his, and no one else’s. Letting it go would mean letting go of what’s happened, of accepting what fate has handed him, and Harry just can’t do that yet. Maybe not ever.

**Louis**

“Louis Tomlinson, this is Nick Grimshaw from that radio show. Nick…this is Louis.”

James’ voice booms in the room as if he were speaking through a blow horn, and after the quick introduction, the two strangers shake hands firmly. Nick is a tall gangly man with a tall brown quiff, and average brown eyes. His mouth takes up the majority of his face, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing, just an observation.

“Nice to finally meet you, Louis.”

Nick says cordially towards Louis.

“Oh surely the pleasures all mine.”

Growing tired of the juvenile discourse, James cuts in, not willing to waste any of the short amount of time they have on petty small talk.

“Right, so Louis…Nick and I were discussing a lot last night about how to handle a situation such as this one, and we’ve come up with some major key points, that we’re going to need to not only establish today, but determine how we’re going to go about them.”

Louis takes a seat in the chair facing his desk, while James and Nick stay standing. There’s a whiteboard in Louis’ office that James nods his head at towards Nick, and Nick grabs a whiteboard marker to begin jotting down anything James mentions. Louis sits eagerly, waiting for James to continue.

“That’s sounds great James, go on.”

“Gladly. So for starters, here is a list of the things we need to figure out. First, what is the location of this brothel? Second, how do we get Simon to accept a person coming to this brothel? How does the brothel work? How does the brothel connect to SYCO?”

“Makes sense, keep going.”

“We did some investigation yesterday, just mainly talking with some people who tend to know a little about a lot, and we found out some useful information. One, Simon’s ‘club,’ is invite only. Which means that Nick will need to get himself better acquainted with Simon in order to receive the invitation to come. If and when that happens, that will also take care of finding out where the brothel is, and how to get Simon to accept the person coming. Someone also mentioned that Simon is going to be at Mr. Pritchard’s upcoming masquerade ball, which could be a great place to make new ‘friends.’”

“Well done, James, but I’m not waiting a month for the masquerade ball. I want Nick in Simon’s line of sight this week. We can’t afford to wait, time is of the essence.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that.”

Nick stops writing down the outline of the discussion, and walks towards the two boys, taking his turn to speak to them.

“I don’t disagree with Louis though, James. He’s got a point. We can’t wait another month just for Simon and I to meet. This needs to get done soon.”

James responds back to Nick.

“But Nick, this isn’t your line of work, you’re not prepared for what’s to come at all.”

“I’ve done a bit of theatre in school.”

“Not the same.”

Louis clears his throat to interrupt to the two.

“Sorry, may I cut in? I think that it can’t hurt to just try. Have Nick meet Simon, if it doesn’t go well we can think of something or someone else.”

Sighing loudly, James rubs his face in his hands, and then responds back to Louis.

“Ugh, you’re right. Fine, fine! Okay, so we need to create an action plan today. Nick, Louis, can you both sit down. I’m going to write on the board, but I need you to listen.”

Louis and Nick sit, and give James their undivided attention.

“Nick is going to be doing most of the work, but Louis… you and I will be behind the scenes managing nearly everything going on. We’re all about to become very busy men. Now who knows of an event coming up that Simon might be going to, within the next few days?”

Louis speaks up.

“The Governor’s Lunch. You know, all the elite’s get together for lunch every Thursday and talk about elitist bullshit.”

“Right! Great thinking Louis. The Governor’s Lunch works out in our favor too, and you want to know why? Because my dear friend Caroline is a regular at those lunch-ins, and she’ll be more than thrilled to take Grimshaw as her date.”

“You’re not talking about that bonkers Flack lady, are you?”

“Yes I am, and mind your elders Louis Tomlinson.”

“Fine, Nick are you alright with her?”

“Yeah, could be worse.”

James lively chides in.

“Exactly! Excellent thinking Grimmy, that’s why you’re my favorite.”

Louis fakes being angry, but then laughs at the end of his words.

“Oh piss off.”

“Back to the plan! So step one, Nick goes on a date with Caroline Flack to the Governor’s Lunch, where she will introduce him to Simon. Now I don’t think this is going to be enough to get Simon to invite Nick to the brothel, but hopefully it will be enough to get Simon to invite Nick out to a more private affair. Maybe out to lunch, but just the two of them. That’s the goal. If Simon doesn’t offer it himself, Nick will have to just ask Simon instead. If you have to ask, Nick, you should ask Caroline and Simon together, so it doesn’t look too targeted.”

Nodding his head, Louis turns to Nick as he questions James next.

“That’s sounds good to me, but what next?”

“Yes, next! Nick will go out to lunch with Simon, or potentially Simon and Caroline. Throughout the lunch, Nick is going to talk about his rising financial standing, and how he’s looking to invest some of his earnings. Simons looking for investors to put money into him and his business, and he’s looking for an investor whose got potential. Once Nick has him interested, Nick’s then going to ask Simon if he knows of any fun places to go to after hours. Lure him into talking about it.”

“But James, what if Simon doesn’t take the bait? What if he doesn’t want Nicks’ investments or want to invite Nick out?”

“He will. From what we’ve gathered, he has a lot of established cliental. By bringing in Nick, the younger generation, Simon’s opening his business up to a wider audience. Also, he’s most likely looking for someone to take under his wing, and Nick could be that person.”

“That’s a lot of assumptions.”

“Louis, when you’re in your fifties, are you going to want to be doing the same work you’re doing for another twenty years, or are you going to want to train someone to do everything for you, so that you can go off and relax?”

“Yeah, I suppose I see it that way, but why would Simon want to expand to a younger audience?”

“They last longer as clients. Also, money to them is new and infinite, younger people tend to spend more than those who are older because they’re naïve and easily persuaded.”

“Okay, I see your point.”

“Back to basics. After Simon has invited Nick to the ‘club’ as he apparently refers to it, we’re going to have to bug Nick. I’m thinking that a pocket watch might be best.”

Nick asks another question.

“What do you mean a pocket watch?”

“A pocket watch, that’s really a camera. We’re going to need to be able to hear and see everything going on, and we’re going to need to disguise the camera to do that. A camera disguised as a pocket watch might be the best way to go about it. It’s something on your clothes that you wouldn’t move, and makes sense for the clothing you’d be wearing.”

Louis barks at James impatiently.

“Keep going James, please. So we need to bug Nick, send him in there, and get the information. Done, yeah?”

“Yeah, for now. Once we know more and see how this goes, we’re going to have to decipher more elements of the plan, but for now this is enough.”

Nick shakes his head in understanding, and then talks aloud to everyone in general.

“So we have tomorrow to relax, and then Thursday is the Governor’s Lunch. This is going to be crazy.”

Louis nods agreeingly, while James responds back.

“Wednesday is not going to be a day to relax for you, my friend. We’re going to need to get you attire for this lunch, and I want to introduce you to Caroline beforehand, so that you two won’t seem like strangers come Thursday.”

This time, Louis replies.

“Wait…James? How are we surveilling the lunch?”

“I’m thinking that you and I should be in the parking lot, so that we’re not too far away in case anything happens. And while Nick is in the lunch, he’ll be face-timing us from his phone. Nick, all you need to do is call us before you go in, make sure your volume is off, and then turn your phone around while placing it in your shirt pocket. It’s long enough that the camera part will stick out of your pocket, so we’ll be able to get a view, and with it turned, no one will see us on the screen cause that part will be up against your chest.”

“What if we lose connection? What if Nick needs to use his phone while he’s there? Or what if Simon asks to see his phone?”

“Well obviously he’ll have to shut the call off, and us two will just have to play the waiting game. Hopefully, though, that won’t happen. If we had more time, I would have had the hidden cameras ready, but this is the best I can work with on such short notice.”

“It’s fine, James. Let’s just take this bloody motherfucker down.”

**Harry**

The birds chirping outside are loud enough to extinguish the quiet owning the room. Harry’s eyes peel open to the noise, waking up from his afternoon nap. He’s done nothing today, but he’s tired. Tired of being bored. Without Louis around, Harry has a non-existent laundry list of things to do, and Zayn’s taken the other two boys out for a date. Perfect.

The problem with having too much time on Harry’s hands, means that Harry has nothing better to do than to get himself into trouble. And trouble is exactly the opposite of what Louis wants him to do. But Harry can’t help it. He can’t help the voices belting in his head and screaming at him, telling him what he should and shouldn’t be doing. Most of all, he can’t help that they all are directing him to do the same thing. Call Mum. Harry had forgotten how much of a distraction Louis really is, until Louis wasn’t here to distract him anymore. Which is severely unfortunate.

 _Stop. I’m not calling. She and Gemma left without me, they took the money and ran. They don’t care._ No matter how many times Harry yells back at them, they only seem to grow in strength, and soon enough, Harry’s consumed with the thought. Call Mum. Call Mum. Call Mum. So he reaches for the dresser where his phone is charging, pulls it off the chord, and dials the digits that he’s recalled since he was ten.

ê ê ê ê

“Harry! Harry!”

Zayn is shaking Harry’s limp body awake, which startles Harry because he’s not sure when he stopped crying and fell asleep.

“Hmm?”

“You alright?”

“Oh, erm…yeah.”

Zayn looks worriedly at Harry, whose lumping his body into a sitting position on the couch.

“You don’t look it.”

“Sorry, just…don’t feel like talking about it.”

“That’s okay. Me and the boys are going out, do you want to come with us? Clear your head?”

Music. Dancing. Alcohol. Harry doesn’t have to think to know what his answer is.

“Yeah, I do.”

Yeah, Harry does want to go out. The music will be too loud for him to think, the dancing will keep him occupied from trying to think, and the alcohol will drown out any thoughts he might think. So fuck yes, does going out sound like a good idea to Harry.

ê ê ê ê

“Drunk? Harry’s not drunk! He was drunk an hour ago. He’s bloody pissed now!”

Harry’s head is pulsing, and he wants to shut his eyes in the worst way imaginable, but every time he does he feels the room spin around him, making him nauseous. So he keeps his eyes opens, and watches through blurry vision as Niall yells to an inebriated Liam.

“What do we do, Ni? Zayn’s been out for a smoke for an hour now.”

Try to focus, Harry is really trying to focus, but concentrating is an extremely difficult task when the alcohol in Harry’s system has a different plan for what his body should be doing right this minute.  _Sleep,_  it tells him. So sleep he shall.

“We need to call Louis.”

Oh fuck.

ê ê ê ê

The night is passing, and Harry’s mind is swimming, and even though he’s sure twenty million hours have passed from the time that Liam and Niall called Louis, to the time Louis, actually showed up, Harry admits to himself that he really has no perception on time and how long it’s truthfully been. Either way, once Louis shows up, stern face and angry, Harry no longer feels like swaying his hips to the music replaying within his own head.

“Get in the car.”

Louis’ voice cuts through like thorns, and Harry doesn’t dare question or refuse his demand. To the best of his intoxicated ability, Harry slumps into the passenger seat and closes the car door as Louis gets in the driver’s side, carefully pulling off the side of the road. The entirety of the ride is spent in absolute silence, Louis doesn’t even remotely glance over to Harry, and Harry doesn’t risk to look at Louis. And again, Harry’s understanding of time fails his drunk self when he starts to feel like he’s been sitting in the car for hours before they finally make it into the driveway of their home. What Harry doesn’t expect though, is for Louis to shut the car off and remain sitting in the car for a few moments longer, leaving Harry confused and unsure as to what to do.

“Do you want to tell me what this is really about?”

Sober Harry, with all his guards up, and better judgments, can’t hold a flame to the loose cannon that is Drunk Harry. Drunk Harry is an emotional mess, and desperate for Louis’ praise, and when Louis asks the question, Drunk Harry lets the tears come running back that had ceased earlier in the day. He lets the words that had been trapped in Sober Harry’s heart, out into the world with reckless abandon.

“I tried to call them, but their phone’s disconnected.”

Harry’s face is swelling, his cheeks are red, and he’s sobbing. It really takes Louis aback; whether at his words or his actions, Harry has no idea.

“Are you talking about your mum and sis, love?”

Everything just wells up inside of Harry, and he brings his hands up to his face so that he can cry into his palms, covering the mess that he is sure to be. With his hands covering his face, he still talks through the cage of his fingers, back to Louis.

“I was hoping they would leave, but I thought…I thought they would still tell me where they were going.”

“Leave? Why did you want them to leave?”

And no. No. No. No. No. Even Drunk Harry knows better than to go down this path that he’s carelessly stepping on. So in order to avoid the subject, he buries his face into Louis’ chest, and cries until he’s somewhat able to breathe again. And thankfully, Louis doesn’t bring it back up.

**Louis**

_It’s fucking Thursday. It’s fucking Thursday. It’s fucking Thursday._  Louis wakes up in the morning with his head pounding, hands shaking, muscles aching. He rushes to the bathroom to take a shower, hoping that Harry hasn’t woken up to see his moment of vulnerability. Louis’ scared. And it’s not a feeling he’s accustomed too. While nothing monumental is occurring today, it’s the first day to start off a series of events that will lead to something epic, the first day to begin the domino effect that will eventually lead to the demise of Simon Cowell. So it’s only fair that Louis’ a bit nervous of the infinite expanse of potential outcomes.

Twisting the knobs, the shower releases scorching water across Louis’ back, and it hurts, but it also feels good. It numbs his skin as he stands underneath it’s pressure, and the pain is enough to temporarily refocus his thoughts. Since he’s woken up, he can finally breathe again. However, sooner rather than later, Louis has to get out. Sooner rather than later, Louis has to own up to this day, and proceed with caution, but also confidence. He can’t expose his insecurities. He can’t exploit his faults. He must continue on, as the Tomlinson he was raised to be, and succeed. That is the only way. That is the only choice.

ê ê ê ê

“Alrighty ladies, we’ve got a job ahead of us today. Nick, you feeling good?”

James is standing in front of Louis and Nick, inside Louis’ office. He’s trying to cheer them on as if he was their coach, and honestly, he pretty much is.

“Yeah, James. Feeling good!”

“Good! Louis how about you? How are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling fine, James. Let’s get going.”

Staring at Louis for a quick second, Louis is almost sure that James can see through the façade Louis has unstably built up, but his eyes don’t linger for too long to suggest he’s questioning Louis’ answer. The minute James’ eyes glance away, Louis exhales a deep breath he’d been holding since they all arrived.

“Excellent! So let’s review our plans. Caroline is going to pick Nick up here, at the office, and go directly to  _Le Viandier_  where the Governor’s Lunch is being held. Nick, the moment you step into those doors, your phone should already been on call with us with face time. Clear?”

“Understood.”

Nick nods his head, and Louis notices that he doesn’t look the tiniest bit uneasy. If Louis hadn’t known better, and hadn’t known why they were all here, Louis would think that Nick was just going out to some regular lunch with some friends. He did not at all appear to be nervous, and well, good for him. Louis certainly can’t say the same, but good for Nick.

“Great! Now, Louis…once Nick is inside that restaurant, you and I will be in the parking lot with my computer, recording everything Nick face times us. It might be boring for a while, but you and I are going to have to seriously listen in on anything and everything Simon says.”

“Got it.”

“When Nick is safely in Caroline’s car, we’ll leave too. Also, after lunch, Caroline will bring Nick back to the office where we’ll meet back up to discuss following steps.”

Right on cue, James’ phone buzzes from an incoming call, Caroline. James doesn’t need to answer, he knows what she’ll say, so instead, he gives Nick a once over and then a nod, patting him on his shoulders as the taller man walks out of the doors.

“We’re going to wait three minutes, Louis, and then we’ll leave. You ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

ê ê ê ê

 _Le_ _Viandier_ is an elegant French restaurant, where only people with close connections can reserve a spot to sit. Louis has been there multiple times that by now, the ambiance of exclusivity has faded for him, but it’s still a special place in his memories. Dinners with his whole family are far and few, and of the times that they occurred in his childhood, they were at this place. His mum claimed it was her favorite restaurant, but Louis always knew it was more for the status appeal, than the food.

“Louis, we’re on.”

Pulled violently from his thoughts, Louis’ eyes are drawn to movement on James’ computer screen.

“Look, he’s entering now!”

Louis swallows hard, the screen in front of him unfolds into a long table with fifteen or so people already sitting and dinning.

“James, I’m…I’m going to be sick.”

“No! He’s fine, you’re fine, we’re fine. There is not a single thing to be worried about right now, so get out of your own head and watch the screen.”

“Fine.”

**Harry**

Hungover and heartbroken are not two things Harry is particularly pleased about being, and yet, here he is. Waking up to the light burning at his bloodshot eyes, he recalls everything about yesterday he was hoping the alcohol would make him forget. They’re gone. They’re really, really gone. Sitting up on the bed motivates Harry to wanting to get up, but his body is begging for him to lay down again. Sleep the day away, not bother with the world. But Harry’s learned from past experiences, especially more recent ones, that he can’t just shut the hardships out. Not anymore, at least.

Rubbing at his eyes, Harry yawns loudly and then surges his body up and off the sheets. He stops in the bathroom to brush his teeth, and then he steps into the kitchen where a grumpy Zayn is lurking by the sink.

“Mornin’.”

Zayn turns around at the sound of Harry’s voice.

“Oh, morning Harry. How ya feeling?”

“Peachy.”

“You look like shit.”

“Not far off from how I feel.”

Harry pours himself a cup of tea that Zayn had already made a pot for, and shuffles himself up onto the kitchen counter to sit, while Zayn leans his body against the granite opposite him.

“You want to talk about it today?”

“Just family shit. Didn’t think they’d up and leave without me, ‘s all.”

“I don’t talk to my family at all these days. Not saying your situation is anything like mine, we all have our own shit we deal with, but my shit, it was tough for a while.”

“When was the last time you talked to them?”

“When I was twenty-one and I told them I wasn’t going to marry the girl they had arranged for me.”

“Woah.”

Zayn smirks and then shakes his head as he appears to recall the memories. Harry can almost see the way Zayn’s eyes focus on something out of reach, in the distance, in the past.

“Yeah. Being ‘gay’ wasn’t part of their ideals, and against my religion, so they tried to force me into a marriage with a woman to end my “rebellious phase,” as they had coined it. I went along with it for a few months, and then one day I just cracked. I looked at my father and said that if he couldn’t accept me the way that I was, he couldn’t be a part of my life. At the time, I honestly wasn’t as scared about losing my relationship with my parents as I was about my sister. I had stayed for her, to protect her, but there was only so much I could do before it was mentally killing me. After that day, they cut all financial, and personal ties with me, and the first thing I did was go out to “The Auction,” and buy Liam. I hadn’t initially planned on doing that, but I obviously don’t regret it one bit.”

The story washes over Harry like waves, with enough force to create a strong current, but remaining steady and calm instead. It’s clear to Harry that while Zayn still harbors resentment towards his family, he’s already made peace with what’s happened, and how his life has panned out. If only Harry could accept the hand fate’s dealt for him, too.

“You probably don’t need to hear it from me to know it’s true, but clearly, things for you have worked out for the better.”

A look of gratification sears across Zayn’s face, as he takes a breath to respond.

“You probably don’t need to hear it from me to know it’s true, but clearly, things for you are getting there.”

**Louis**

They did it. They fucking did it. Simon bought into Nick’s charismatic charm, and endless pool of new money the minute Nick walked in with Caroline. It only took halfway through the Governor’s Lunch for Simon to ask Nick out on his yacht the following day. It was a small victory, but a victory none-the less, and James was taking them out for celebratory drinks.

“Nick, you absolutely smashed it.”

Beer in hand, Louis congratulates Nick while James runs off to the bathroom.

“Thanks, mate. I could not believe my luck, it was like the minute I sat down with Caroline he was eager to know who I was.”

“I know! And to get asked to his yacht, that’s the perfect setting for having the conversation you want to tomorrow.”

“Yeah. I’m just a bit nervous because I’ll be alone with him, but it’s for a good cause, right?”

“Absolutely. Besides, James is meeting up with one of his coworkers to borrow their hidden camera for us, which will be great since Simon will be sure to bring up the brothel. I have no doubts.”

“I’m just wondering why Simon’s as eager to rush this as we are? You know? Like what is in it for Simon to get me on board so quickly?”

It’s a fair question that Louis doesn’t know the answer to. He has not one idea. But in his heart of hearts, he prays that whatever it is Simon is planning, they can stop him first.

**Harry**

It’s late, Harry isn’t sure what time it is exactly, but his eyes scan the shadows stretched across the floor, and they gaze at the midnight sky hanging in the background of the room, and it says enough. It’s late, and Louis is just getting home, adjusting his smaller body into bed so that he’s more comfortable. It’s late, and Harry just wants to turn over and cuddle Louis, ask him where he’s been, ask him if he’s missed him, but he doesn’t. It’s late, and Harry tries to close his eyes again to dream away all his problems, but he can’t. It’s late, and that’s all Harry can manage to think about it. It’s late.

ê ê ê ê

Harry never falls back asleep, and when the sun finally rises high enough in the sky for his liking, he steps up out of bed and heads to the kitchen. He’s exhausted, and he’s absolutely going to need ten cups of coffee to function for the day. Harry hates these kinds of days, where it’s all going to shit and there’s nothing anyone can do but to suffer through until tomorrow. He really hates them a lot.

“Oh, you’re up?”

Turning towards the voice, Harry finds Louis stumbling from their room. His eyes are barely open, hair sticking up at all ends, and his voice is wonderful and raspy. Harry tries not to overthink how beautiful Louis really is, because Louis is so painfully attractive, but Harry is upset and needs to focus on that.

“Yeah, couldn’t sleep.”

“Sorry I got in late last night. James, Nick, and I had a good first day, and we went out celebrating afterwards.”

“Oh, that’s nice.”

Harry starts to walk away towards the couch, hoping his defeated tone says enough about how he feels, without having to say so.

“Harry? Hey…wait.”

Footsteps walk briskly towards Harry until Harry’s torso is stopped by Louis’ strong grip, and Louis makes his way in front of Harry again. Harry tries not to look into Louis’ eyes because he knows the minute he does, he’ll spill it all, but Louis aligns his body so that Harry can’t glance anywhere but into Louis’ infinite blue pools of worry.

“What’s wrong, love?”

“Nothing, don’t worry about it.”

“Really? You’ve just walked away from me, and you expect me to believe nothing is bothering you?”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“Then why not just tell me?”

It’s frustrating. Harry, for once, just wants to wallow in his emotions. Why can’t Louis let him do that? Why is it so wrong for Harry to allow himself to be upset? That’s how he handles things when they get hard. That’s how he’s always dealt with the shit that blew his way. He would let it hit him as hard as it could, he’d dwell in the pain, and then he’d move on. Most of the time the wound wouldn’t even be fully healed once he decided to walk away, but honestly, do wounds ever really heal?

“I just want to be alone.”

“And I just want you to tell me what’s wrong. One of us, it seems, is not going to get their way.”

“Louis.”

“Harold.”

The two boys stare at one another, waiting for the other to surrender under their stern gaze. Harry doesn’t surrender, no, he continues to stare, but he breaks the silence by talking again.

“I don’t understand why it’s so wrong for me to be alone with my thoughts for a bit.”

“Because you don’t handle being alone with your thoughts very well.”

“Can’t you just respect my decision?”

“Can’t you just respect me? Why are you hiding this from me?”

“Louis…I’m not hiding anything.”

“But you are.”

Louis’ gaze starts to burn into Harry again, and Harry just can’t take it anymore. If  _he wants to know so bad, fine!_ Harry angrily thinks.

“I’m upset about my mum and my sis! I’m upset that they just left! Not a single word or note left for me!”

Dropping his hands from Harry’s body, Louis stands back, dazed and confused.

“But Harry…they did leave you a note. Don’t you remember?”

Note? Note?  _What no- oh my god, the note! I never read the note!_  The sudden panic and then excitement, tied together with nerves, creates momentary chaos in Harry’s mind.

“Do you still have it?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Can I-”

“You don’t have to ask.”

Not another moment passes and Louis runs back to the room, and then quickly hurries back, envelope in hand. How could Harry forget? How could Harry completely forget that his mum did try to leave him something? At the time, he was just so overwhelmed with everything, he couldn’t think of reading it, but to actually forget that it existed at all?

“Louis, I want to read this on my own, if you don’t mind.”

Extending out the envelope so that Harry can grab it within his fingers, Louis nods and then rubs Harry’s arm.

“Of course. I’ll just be in the room getting ready for work.”

Louis starts to walk away, but then turns back around quickly and engulfing Harry in a hug. The embrace is full of sympathy and warmth, and Harry buries his face into Louis before letting go. When Louis finally walks back in the direction of their room, Harry waits until he can hear Louis start the shower, when he sits on the couch and opens the note. It takes Harry twenty deep inhales and exhales till he can stomach the tension welled up inside of him, and peeling apart the folded edges of the paper to find his mum’s handwriting.

My Dear Harry-

I have no idea where to begin. What you did…what you have done for us…I hate that you thought that was the only way, but Gem and I are also so grateful for it. We miss you though so much, and sometimes the pain is hard to ignore, but it’s a constant reminder of how much I do not deserve you for a son. You are too good, too pure for this world love, and I hope you are out there somewhere, enjoying the sun shining on your face, and laughing alongside someone you love. I hope that you are free of the burdens that I’ve put onto you, and free from the demons that have haunted us all. I hope, most of all, that you are happy beyond belief. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you. If you are reading this note it means that you know Gem and I are gone, and right now, as I’m writing this to you my darling, I have no idea where we’re going. As soon as we are settled, I will find you. I love you more than words could ever define. Goodbye for now. –Mum .xx

**Louis**

Questions strangle Louis’ mind like a noose, suffocating him with ‘what ifs,’ and ‘maybes.’ He tries respecting Harry’s decision to read the note alone, but he can’t help wanting to peek around the corner and check if he’s okay.  _No! You have to trust him. He’ll be okay._ Louis attempts to argue back against the questions in his head, but it comes to no avail. They don’t cease. Thankfully, Louis has things to busy himself with so that he’s not more tempted to spy. He genuinely has to start getting ready for work, so little by little he dresses himself, and get his files together in his briefcase. He even checks his phone to occupy himself before leaving, which is something he never does. There’s nothing to look at of course, but it’s a time waster still.

 _Breathe. Just breathe._ And he does. He breathes and paces, breathes, and paces, until he’s sure that walking out of this room will be the right decision. Twisting the bedroom knob, swingng the door open, Louis exits with all his belongings for work, only stopping in the living room to see Harry on his way out. Of course, what he doesn’t expect to find is Harry balled up into fetal position on the couch, weeping loudly into a pillow. It startles Louis so much that he drops all the items he had been carrying, and runs over to Harry without taking another breath.

“Harry, darling, what happened? What did it say?”

Louis automatically bends his arms under Harry’s body, guiding him in towards Louis’ chest, and letting the younger boy cry away. Harry’s face is blotchy, smeared with tears, and swollen. It’s so difficult for Louis to see because all he wants is to soothe him, so Louis bends his head and starts laying kisses onto Harry’s forehead and cheeks. While he’s kissing him, he rubs his hands along the boy’s back, trying to help him relax as best as possible. It goes on for another few minutes when finally, Harry’s crying and breathing are under control. Then another five minutes pass till Harry pushes his body off of Louis, and sits up on the couch on his own.

“Are you okay, love?”

The question comes out as a whisper, and unsure. Louis isn’t certain if it was the right thing to ask, but Harry turns his glossy green eyes towards him, and opens his pink swelled lips to speak.

“Yeah. Just, erm, made me miss them more. ‘s all.”

“Did they tell you where they are now, or a number to reach them?”

“No.”

Words cannot convey how Louis feels this instant, watching the person he cares for deeply, severely hurting in front of him. Words cannot convey how Louis feels right this moment, as he realizes Harry’s pain is not going away. Words cannot convey how Louis feels at this second, knowing there’s nothing he can do to make this better. Words cannot convey even slightly how Louis feels, and so he decides it better not to speak at all. He decides it’s better to reach his arms out again, and grab Harry into another embrace, hugging him, kissing him, until hopefully his actions can convey without words how Louis feels. Words cannot convey a thing, but actions…actions say alot.

ê ê ê ê

Going into work after everything that occurred this morning was torturous. Louis wanted to spend the day wrapped up in Harry, kissing him, and holding him every second until he felt somewhat okay again. However, this is prime time in the Simon investigation, and Louis cannot miss a single moment of the events unfolding. So with a deep breath, Louis tries to push aside his other issues for the day, and focus solely on the task at hand.

“James! You’re here bright and early.”

Walking into Louis’ office, James is already writing notes on the whiteboard, as Louis drops his briefcase off on his desk.

“Haven’t been here too long, you know I’m not much for overachieving. Nick should be here any minute.”

“So, what does the almighty James Corden suggest for today’s plans?”

“Don’t be cheeky! I was up thinking about this for a while, because it’s going to be hard not being within a close proximity to Nick.”

“He’s going to be on the yacht with Simon, right?”

“Yeah.”

Louis offers his suggestions, despite not being entirely sure it’s a good one.

“It’ll probably look suspicious if we took out a boat too, but maybe we can sit on the beach nearby, and watch them from shore?”

“That’s not a bad idea. Suppose there’s no reason for us to stay in the car again, anyways. Okay, so this is what we’ll do. Oh! Nick, glad you made it.”

Right as James says his name, Nick enters in the office and closes the door hurriedly behind him.

“Sorry gentlemen. Simon called me. He changed plans, says he wants me to meet him at  _Casanova_ , the bar down the street.”

Louis asks curiously back to Nick.

“Is that where you’re ending up instead today, or is he picking you up from there to go to the yacht?”

“I think we’re meeting there now.”

After Nick says that, James cuts in again.

“That’s alright, it works better for us actually. We’ll follow you to the bar, and there’s a café across the street we can sit at and watch from. I managed to borrow a close friend’s camera for this, so don’t damage it. Come here, Grimmy.”

Nick walks up to James, as he pulls the little camera out of his shirt pocket. It’s in the shape of a tiny black cat, and if Louis didn’t know any better, he’d never suspect it for anything other than a pin. As Nick stands still, James clips the cat to Nick’s shirt, and makes sure it’s securely on before standing a few steps back, talking to the boys again.

“This camera is hooked up to a system I’ve got on my computer, that will automatically record everything that it videos. Which works better for us, because trying to record the facetime call was a bit annoying to work out. It’s a bit smaller than I would like, but it will capture all we’ll need it to.”

Louis nods and then speaks up.

“So we’re going to follow Nick to  _Casanova,_ Nick will go in, James and I will head to the café. While Nick is in the café, James and I will be watching what happens on his computer. I’m going to be taking notes of anything important Simon says, and James will be looking for any signs of danger towards Nick. When Nick is done with Simon, we will all meet up back at the office, and go over out next steps. Seems easy enough. My own question is, does Nick need to turn that cat on, or is it good to go?”

James cheekily grins, and then responds one last time.

“It’s good to go. Made sure it was on when I pinned it. Just don’t touch the pussycat, Nick, it’s very sensitive.”

“Haven’t touched a pussy before James, don’t see myself starting to now.”

**Harry**

“Harry?”

As Harry is lying face down on the couch, he can hear Niall calling out, and stepping cautiously towards him. Harry tries to stay still, curious as to what Niall might do while hoping he’ll ignore him, but also knowing better that he won’t.

“Hey. You okay?”

Niall sits down on the couch alongside Harry, and starts rubbing his back. Harry turns over, knowing he can’t avoid a persistent Irishman.

“Sort of.”

“You want to talk about it?”

“Just found a note my mum left, made me miss ‘em.”

“It’s never going to get easier, you know? Missing them.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“But the thing is, you can’t think about all the times that they’re not there. You should think about all the times you got to have with them in the first place. Remember all the moments you got to enjoy with them. As angry as I am with my family, sometimes it’s nice to look back on the good memories I have of them.”

“What if I’m not ready to let them go?”

“No one’s ever ready to let someone go, but life does what life does, and it’s just a matter of learning how to roll with the tide.”

“She said she’d try and find me.”

“I hope she does.”

“Me, too.”

**Louis**

The two men enter the café across the street from  _Casanova_ , watching as Nick enters into the bar alone. Once inside the café, Louis is pleased to find that for the most part, it’s relatively empty. Also, there are seats at a long table, situated right in front of the window overlooking the street. Excellent. As soon as James spots the same available seats, he walks towards the table and starts setting up his computer, with Louis tagging closely behind.

“James, get this set up pronto, I don’t trust Simon alone with him for one second.”

“Already on it. Just have to click this, and boom! We’re in business!”

Louis squints over the screen as the inside of the bar comes into view. Then, all at once, Simon’s body is centered, and his voice is audible. James rushes to talk next, trying not to miss what’s already begun.

“Louis, I brought headphones for us, so no can hear what we’re listening to. Here you go.”

“Good thinking.”

Putting the left ear piece on, Louis pulls out his notepad, and starts listening carefully to their conversation.

_“Nick so nice to see you again. Sorry about the change of plans, the engine wasn’t starting on my yacht.”_

_“No worries, Simon. Just glad to meet up with you again! Fancy a pint?”_

_“No thanks. And yes, I’ve been thinking about our discussion yesterday, and how you mentioned you were interest in making some investments. You know, SYCO is a wonderful business, and the people who have invested in my company have been getting back tenfold of what they’ve put in.”_

_“Really? That’s amazing! Yes, I was hoping you would mention SYCO. I have been researching a lot about your company, and I’m very impressed with the progress that it’s made over the past few years. It seems to have a lot of room for growth, which I really am looking for, more so than just putting my money into an established business.”_

_“Oh yeah, SYCO is only going up. It’s because we offer loans to those that wouldn’t be approved through more official means. Which nowadays, is quite a lot of people.”_

_“Your interest rates are fairly high though, for the average person.”_

_“True, but it’s because they can be. If people are coming to us it’s because they weren’t approved anywhere else. As long as we approve them, they’re willing to pay the high interest rates, and even more so, nearly everyone pays back their debt to us within two years.”_

_“Two years?”_

_“Yes, two years.”_

_“That’s pretty fast.”_

_“We’re persistent. But enough about the boring inner workings of the business, there’s more fun things to be discussed.”_

_“Yes true, but I do find the ‘inns’ so fascinating. I’d love to run a business one day, myself.”_

_“Is that so?”_

_“Yes, radio is only going to take me so far. I don’t want to sound selfish or anything, but I want more.”_

Louis watches the screen as Simon stays silent for a few moments, looking on at Nick like predator vs. prey. The expression sends cold shivers down Louis’ spine.

_“You know, Nick. I asked you to meet me up today because I was hopeful you’d be interested in making some investments into SYCO, but I think I might have another offer you can’t resist.”_

_“Don’t tease, Simon.”_

_“I’m not. I’ve been scouting for someone who is eager to take the reins on another business I’m currently running. It’s not for everyone, but I think you’d adjust to it quite nicely.”_

_“Another business? What’s that one for?”_

_“I can’t say. If you think you might be curious enough to want to know more, I’m going to need you to sign a few papers. It’s one of the most exclusive affairs to date, and I can’t tell you anything until you understand how private this needs to remain. It’s a highly confidential business, with highly confidential clients.”_

_“I understand, sir.”_

_“So is that a ‘yes?’”_

_“Yes!”_

“James…we’ve got him.”

ê ê ê ê

“I cannot believe we did that! I cannot believe we fucking did that!”

The three men are back in Louis’ office, as Louis is yelling out to them. They are all cheering, and grinning, and Louis feels invincible. Fucking incredible.

“Okay! Okay! Louis, Nick, settle down you overgrown ten year olds. We need to be serious again, what’s to come now is going to be the hardest part. And we need some time for planning, which we don’t have.”

“You’re right James. Sorry. Nick, let’s sit and act like the gentlemen we are.”

Nick smirks at Louis’ cheeky comment, but the two of them sit down, giving James their undivided attention regardless.

“Thanks. Anyways, Simon wants Nick to go to his office on Monday, and sign the papers. I think we all know these are going to be in the realm of Non-Disclosures, so Nick, do yourself a favor and don’t sign your actual name.”

“What do you mean?”

Louis motions his head to signify that he too, is confused by the statement.

“If you sign those papers Nick, with your actual name, you could be held accountable, legally. So sign something that’s close enough Simon wouldn’t notice, or something.”

“Okay, I can handle that.”

“Good. So Monday means paperwork. I’m assuming that if all goes well, Simon is going to have you meet him up again for the actual brothel. I don’t know when or where he does it, so we can’t guess at this point in time, how soon it will be after you’ve signed the necessary papers, but expect it to be as early as Monday night.”

Louis cuts in.

“You think he would do it that soon?”

“I think Simon is eager to have someone take his place, and Nick’s got all the qualifications in doing so. So yes, I think it could be that soon.”

Nick replies after James.

“Well, I’m ready for it. Can’t prepare myself more if I tried.”

“That’s the spirit, Grimshaw! Back to the plan though. Nick… you and I are going to get you a tux, since it will be better to have it in advance. Also, we are going to stop and pick up the pocket watch I’ve order, and drop it off at the same person’s house who lent us that cat. She’ll be able to install a camera in the pocket watch for us, which will be bigger and better than the cat pin. Also, Louis, I need you to do me a favor.”

“Anything.”

“I need you to call Perrie Edwards, and tell her everything you’ve jotted down today in your notes. She’s the police chief I’ve been discussing our case with, and I told her she’d receive a call from you with some valuable information. Also, let her know to be on guard, and that if we call again, it’s urgent.”

“Sure thing, does Eleanor have her number?”

“Yes, I left it with her a few days ago.”

“Great.”

“Okay Nick, let’s get going. Louis, I leave the rest up to you.”

They all shake hands with one another as James and Nick say their goodbyes, and make their way out of the office. Louis grabs the notes he took from earlier out of his briefcase, and takes a few moments to collect his thoughts. When he’s regained control over himself, he sits up straighter in his chair, and picks up his phone, to dial Eleanor.

“Mr. Tomlinson?”

“Hi, El. Can you please put me through with Perrie Edwards?”

“Sure thing, sir.”

Without hesitation, the phone starts ringing until a young woman’s voice comes through on the other end.

“Police Chief, Edwards.”

“Hello Miss Edwards, my name is Louis Tomlinson.”

**Harry**

**_I’m sorry. I didn’t make dinner._ **

Harry sends the text to Louis, hoping that he sees it before he makes it home.

**That’s okay, love. Want me to get Chinese, and we can watch a movie tonight?**

**_Yes, please!_ **

The end to this day could not come any faster. Harry had not done much, talking with Niall didn’t last long, and eventually he went out for a walk to clear his head, but not much else. Sitting in the house day in and day out gets awfully boring, and while Harry had been the one to say he wanted to sit and dwell in his own pity, that all got old very fast, too. Niall is right, Harry shouldn’t be upset. He needs to accept what’s happened, and do the best that he can. His mum said she wanted him happy, and so Harry should really try and do that, if not for himself then for her.

In conclusion, this morning was shit, and the rest of the day was as boring as watching paint dry. However, steadily Harry is getting himself back together. Steadily, he’s feeling himself make steps towards being happier. Steadily, he’s feeling a lot less shattered, and just a bit more whole.

When Louis makes it home an hour later, food in hand and a movie in the other, Harry runs up to him, tangling his arms so suddenly around Louis that the older boy gasps.

“Are you alright?”

Smiling sheepishly into Louis’ neck.

“I am now.”

When Louis extends his arms around Harry’s back, and kisses him on his forehead, Harry knows that what he’s said is true. He’s alright.

ê ê ê ê

“Lou, I know we haven’t talked about this before, but what would you think about me getting myself a job? It could be part time, doesn’t matter. Just think it’s a lot for me to be kept up in this house.”

The two boys are on the couch, in the middle of watching their movie, when Harry asks the question. Louis seems to think it over for a while, as he zones out for momentarily.

“You want a job?”

“Yes. I’m just bored…a lot. Could be good to get out of the house.”

“What about working for me?”

“No offense, but don’t you think that could be a bad thing? Spending too much time together?”

“Yeah, I suppose. And I’m sure you’d like to have your own life away from me, for a bit.”

“If you’re not comfortable with it, it’s okay.”

“No, I am. Just…there’s a lot I need to handle within the next week or so, and this is just more to take in. But when all this blows over, I’d be more than happy to help you find a job, love.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. As long as you don’t mind the wait.”

“Not at all.”

Harry kisses the side of Louis’ cheek, and then settles closely back into Louis’ warmth, leaning his torso against the older boy’s chest. Turns out even the day ended up alright.

ê ê ê ê

“So you know how you were talking about wanting a job last night?”

Lying in bed, Harry is still under the covers of the sheets, barely awake, when Louis starts to ask him as he’s getting dressed for work.

“Yeah?”

“Why don’t you spend some time looking up the jobs, yourself? I was thinking about it, and you don’t have to wait for me to do that. Don’t apply to anything yet, but just get a list together of places and positions you’d be interested in working. When you have it all together, we can both go over it, and then apply to the places that are the best for you.”

“So I can look them up on my own, yeah?”

“Yeah. Take your time, too. No rush.”

“Okay, babe.”

Louis’ cheeks flush a bit when Harry says babe, and Harry can’t help but find it alarmingly adorable.

“I’ve got to head off to work now, have a good day. Don’t hesitate to text me if you need me.”

“Okay, bye!”

“Bye!”

As soon as Louis is out the door, Harry gets out of bed and heads to the kitchen to make himself breakfast. He’s beyond excited to start searching for jobs, and thinking about how nice it will be for Harry to have his own friends and life apart from Louis, stirs a yearning in him he didn’t know.

**Louis**

Friday at the office goes by in slow motion. Without James or Nick there to distract him from the boredom of that which is work, Louis feels like time is moving listlessly. When the work day’s finally over, Louis heads home to an overjoyed Harry with a healthy list of two hundred potential jobs. Which, is fantastic, but also the last thing Louis wants to think about. Instead, he distracts Harry by bribing him with going out. Zayn, Liam, and Niall all tag along as well, and they spend their Friday night drinking and dancing in club  _Havana_  until their limbs feel like falling off.

Louis continues his charade on Saturday, ignoring everything in his willpower the minute everyone wakes up with terrible hangovers by dragging them to the beach. Sunday is no different when Louis convinces the gang to head to the park for a picnic and some footie. Overall, it was an eventful weekend, but Louis did not accomplish a single thing that he was supposed to, which was sort of the plan to begin with, so win-win.

“Mr. Tomlinson, Nick Grimshaw is here to see you.”

“Send him in.”

Another moment hardly passes and Nick is entering into Louis’ office, briskly walking towards the empty chair, and waiting till Eleanor closes the door before speaking.

“Nick?”

“Louis, listen, I’m…I’m scared. All weekend I was followed by these two blokes with ugly mugs. I didn’t want to tell James cause I know he’ll freak, but what do I do?”

“It was the same men, all weekend?”

“Yeah, everywhere I went they were following me. I think they’re Simon’s, but I didn’t stick around long enough to find out.”

“He might be tracking you to see if you are who you say you are, or whatever. Has Simon contacted you at all?”

“Yeah, he called me yesterday. Just wanted to make sure I was coming in today.”

“If he called you to make sure you’re still coming, then that probably means those guys didn’t find anything on you. I wouldn’t worry about it, Nick. Just take some deep breaths.”

Nick breathes in and out loudly, while Louis refrains from breaking his own calm. This has him panicking too, but he can’t admit it. Not to Nick.

“I’ve been proper panicked all weekend. Couldn’t even bloody sleep, I thought I was going to be killed.”

“You’re alright, Nick. We’re so close at this point, and it’s going to be over soon.”

“I know. I know I can’t back out. I don’t want to, either. But it just really had me spooked.”

“I can imagine.”

Just as Louis’ words finish seeping from his mouth, James comes bursting in.

“Nick? You’re early.”

“Wanted to be on time for you, Mr. Corden.”

“Bite me.”

The boys laugh, and Louis can see that the level of anxiety has decreased on Nick’s face, but there’s still some there, and Louis knows better than to think it will go away. Nothing will be okay until this is all over.

ê ê ê ê

Louis and James wait for an hour and a half in the office, before Nick comes back from Simon’s office. They had let him go it alone, and didn’t give him a camera because chances were, there wasn’t going to be anything super important happening. At this point, they just need the footage of the brothel, and they’re good to go. Well, and a ton of other questions answered, but they’re getting to that.

“And? What happened?”

James asks as soon as Nick sits down in a chair.

“I’ll tell you everything, but just wait till the end for any questions, cause I just want to get it out.”

The other men shake their heads in agreement, and then Nick begins.

“First, I sat down and he had me sign those papers, which I signed ‘Natalie Grimwald,’ and he didn’t even look twice at it! And yes, I’m very proud of myself for that one because I was nearly shitting bricks as I was doing it. Anyways, after I signed the papers, he started to tell me about the place, but never said it was a brothel. He said that the top elite come to gather every other Saturday night, and that it takes place at a different hotel every time, to certain the secrecy and exclusivity of the event. He also said he wants me there this Saturday, at the  _Grand Luxe Hotel_ , eight pm sharp. I have to dress up in my best attire, which we’ve bought, and all cellphones are left at the front desk, before heading up into the elector to the top floor penthouse suite. He also said that this side business is profitable for everyone involved, and that SYCO benefits off it, as well. He was very vague with everything he said, but it’s better than nothing.”

Jumping out of his chair, Louis runs up and hugs Nick in sheer excitement.

“Better than nothing? Nick, you’ve got us a date and time for this place! That’s everything we needed!”

James chides in, too.

“He’s right, Nick. You’ve done well, I’m so proud of you. Now we have all week to get ready for this, maybe it’s best we relax tonight, and then meet back here tomorrow? I think we all could use a break.”

“Sounds good, James.”

With one last smile exchanged, the other two men depart, leaving Louis to continue celebrating gleefully on his own.

**Harry**

“You asked for a job?”

Liam’s mouth drops open in surprise, asking Harry tells him about his recent topic of conversation.

“Yeah? Why?”

“That’s just like, that’s just not common. I mean, our kind don’t typically have jobs outside of the work we do for our owners.”

“Yeah, but Louis doesn’t really, like, ask me to do anything. Even Zayn hardly has you do much.”

“Which I am grateful for every day. I mean, I get wanting to work instead of sitting in this house all day, but it’s just very strange.”

“Well, strange as it may be, I still want one.”

“Good for you, Harry. Really, good for you.”

They settle back into the card game they were playing, while waiting for Zayn and Niall to come back from their date. Harry enjoys the time he gets to spend with Niall and Liam, but now that the idea is in his head, he thinks about the fact that he could be busy working instead of playing games. And sure, it may be strange for a subordinate to ask, but is Harry really even Louis’ subordinate at this point? Because it sure doesn’t seem like it.

ê ê ê ê

“I made salmon with pesto drizzled on top, and baked asparagus.”

“Harry, this looks terrific.”

“Thanks, Lou.”

The younger boys passes over a tray to Louis, letting Louis take what he wants first. While Harry waits for the dish to be passed back, he decides now’s a good time to ask Louis a question.

“You know, I realized we haven’t talked about it much, but erm, how’s that case going on Simon?”

“It’s…it’s going. Just a lot I’m still figuring out.”

Harry can see clearly that Louis is hiding the real details from him, and for whatever reasons, Harry doesn’t know. Normally he would say something about it, but at this moment, he’s willing to just let it go.

“Okay.”

Unfortunately, discussion doesn’t pick up between them and the rest of dinner is spent in awkward silence. Harry chooses to ignore it by going to bed early.

ê ê ê ê

Something scratches against Harry’s back, waking from his peaceful slumber. At first, he tries not to stir, not wanting to wake Louis up, but then it happens again and he yelps.

“Harry? What’s wrong?”

“Lou, there was something scratching at my back.”

Louis stares at Harry whose turned over to look at him, and then suddenly bursts into a fit of giggles.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Turn over.”

Harry raises his eyebrows in a quizzical manor, but does what Louis asks. After he’s turned over, Harry can hear Louis moving, and then feels the scratching against his back again.

“Ah! That was you?”

Returning to look at Louis, Harry finds the older boy giggling again.

“I was kissing you. Guess I need to shave if it was scratching you that bad.”

Harry chuckles, and then leans up to kiss Louis on his mouth. Pressing gently against his thin, soft lips. When he slumps back down, Louis runs his fingers through Harry’s curls, and calmly speaks in the distance between them.

“Love, I just…I just wanted to say I’m sorry. There’s so much going on right now, and I’m not voluntarily trying to keep you out. When this is all over, I’ll be able to breathe again, but now, I just feel so stressed.”

“It’s okay. I know, I just wish you would talk to me too, like how you want me to talk to you. If somethings bothering you, you know I’m here.”

Louis smirks affectionately, and then leans down to whisper in Harry’s ear.

“The only thing that’s bothering me is that you’re unbearably stunning, and I don’t have any time to take you apart like I’d like to.”

Tilting his head into the words, Harry stares into Louis with a mischievous glance.

“You want to take me apart?”

“I want to absolutely wreck you.”

This time, Harry licks his bottom lip before biting it, watching as Louis’ eyes focus in pure hunger.

“And what is it exactly, that you’re waiting for, babe?”

As Harry releases the word babe, slow and languidly, Louis’ lips tangle into the cockiest grin Harry’s ever seen, causing Harry’s cock to harden just from the sight.

“For you to tell me to stop.”

“Well then, you’ll be waiting forever.”

Louis’ lip twitches as his blue eyes grow so dark they’re almost black, and the minute Harry sees this transformation, he takes one last shaky breath. He’s about to be destroyed.

ê ê ê ê

Waking up the next morning, Harry’s tired eyes glance over the bed, finding with a heavy heart that the other side is empty. He’s disappointed, especially after the wonderful night they had, but there’s nothing that can be done. Louis is busy, and Harry understands that. Deep down, he even knows that Louis didn’t intentionally leave him alone this morning. Still…it hurts all the same.

Resisting the urge to get out of bed, Harry stays tucked under the covers, lying in the smell of their sheets. Lying in the smell of them. Harry starts to wonder when everything he felt for Louis, had grown to the level of affection that they’re at now. When did his entire mood change based on his interactions with Louis? When did Louis being happy, make him feel a warmth inside himself brighter than a thousand suns? When did Harry start to feel every emotion so immensely, and feel them, passing directly through his heart and not his mind? Some days, he thinks about how handing over his heart would not be enough to portray just how intense his affinity for Louis is. Really, is there even a word that could describe such a thing? Are there any words that could explain the magnitude of it all?

One word does come to mind, and when it comes knocking on the entrance of Harry’s brain, he waivers in letting it come in. Does he accept what it means to allow this word into his thoughts? Does he know just how much everything will change if he welcomes this word with open arms? In the end, it’s Harry’s decision and his decision only. Does he open the door, or does he keep it closed, letting that word wait patiently, outside and alone?

**Louis**

It’s Thursday. Nick is going to the brothel in two days, and they’ve spent all week planning, and planning, and planning. James has been on the phone with police chief, Perrie Edwards, making sure that her team is ready to move when they say “go.” She’s got a lot of evidence, and she already has her warrant to search the premises ready, meaning that all legal corners have been covered. All that’s left is for James, Nick, and Louis to actually get solid plans set, and annoyingly, they’ve been arguing over it non-stop.

“Nick, you cannot tell Simon no. If he asks you to do something, you have to do it.”

“But what if he makes me have sex with someone?”

James’ faces shows his serious concern, and Louis doesn’t blame Nick for asking that question. He’d be nervous as hell too.

“If he asks you Nick, do it. We are hoping to finish this as fast as we can, but until we’re in there, you have to do your best.”

“I didn’t sign up for this.”

“No, you didn’t. But only you can do this. Only you can go in and get the evidence we need.”

Nick looks around at James and Louis, and then sighs, bending his body over to sit back in the seat.

“Alright… Nick, Louis? We have today and today only to get these plans fucking set, or else we won’t be ready for Saturday. Let’s go over the beginning again. Nick is going to show up at eight pm at the  _Grand Luxe Hotel,_ he’s going to leave his phone at the front desk, as requested by Simon. After, he will take the elevator up to the penthouse suite, where he will meet Simon an hour prior to the night’s festivities. Is that clear to everyone.”

Louis and Nick shake their heads ‘yes.’

“Good. Nick, you’ll have the pocket watch on you, and remember, if there’s an emergency, push the side button to set off an alarm to Miss Edwards.”

“Got it.”

“Once Nick enters, the rest is left up to him and Simon. All of his interactions will be recorded on my computer, and only one of us needs to stay to watch it. That will be me.”

Louis calls out to James.

“And what is it again, that I’m supposed to do?”

“You’re going to be watching the Hotel Surveillance. I can only watch what happens with Nick, but we need someone to watch what’s happening with the rest of the people involved. Perrie has already explained to the hotel that there is going to be a police investigation occurring, and they’ve told her that anything she needs to get done, she’s free to do. Which means that early Saturday morning, I will be going over to the hotel, and setting up a few extra surveillance cameras for you to watch, Louis.”

“Okay. I can do that.”

“There’s just one more thing that Perrie mentioned to me yesterday, when we were talking.”

“Go on with it.”

“She mentioned that she thought it would be best to swap the hotel staff out for people we trust. She doesn’t want to risk one of the hotel employees to spill the news to Simon before we even have a chance to get him. I honestly don’t disagree with her, I think it’s better to work with people we trust.”

“What are you implying, James.”

“We need a few people. She would offer some of the members of her squad, but Saturday night she’s going to be short staffed as it, so she can’t afford to let more than one or two go. Meaning we will need to find four people. Two people for the front desk, one person to stay with you for back up, and another person for food service when they order food or drinks.”

“No.”

“No?”

“I know the four people you’re thinking of, and the answer is no.”

“But Louis!”

“I don’t want them involved in this. I don’t want them in danger.”

Nick intercepts the conversation, replying back to Louis.

“Look, Louis, I don’t disagree with you that you’d be putting people you love in a dangerous situation, but they wouldn’t really be the ones in danger, per say. The worst they’re going to have to do is deal with some elitist twats. And it would help us, imagine if someone on the hotel staff ruined everything before it’d even begun? We’d be gutted. But this way…this way we don’t have to second guess that.”

“I can’t…Nick, please.”

“I’m sorry, but I agree with James. I think this is the best way.”

Well just fuck everyone up their fucking arseholes then.

**Harry**

Louis comes home distraught. It’s written all over his face that something is unbearably upsetting him, and Harry runs right up to him to find out.

“Lou? Baby, what’s wrong?”

“I’m going to be sick.”

Pushing past Harry, Louis runs for their bathroom, and shuts the door on Harry so that he can’t see what’s happening. Harry waits a couple of minutes when the door opens, and Louis comes out paler than before.

“Lou, you look awful. Come on, lie down. I’ll grab you a glass of water.”

“No, Harry, please. I need to talk with you, Niall, Liam, and Zayn. Could you get everyone for me?”

“Yes, but you’re lying down right this instant, and then I’ll bring everyone here.”

“Okay.”

Reaching his arm around Louis’ waist, Harry supports Louis’ body from the bathroom to the bed, tucking him under the covers up till his chest, and fluffing the pillows behind his head to hold him in a seated position.

“I’ll go get them now. Be right back.”

Harry runs up the stairs, and gets all the other boys to follow him back down, telling them that Louis has something important he wants to discuss with all of them. When they get to the room, Zayn is the first to comment on the state Louis’ in.

“Boo bear, you look so sick. Are you okay?”

“Yes, please, just…I have something I need to ask of all of you, and I don’t want to do it, but we’re sort of desperate.”

Liam and Niall just stand still, waiting for Louis to tell them what he wants, but Zayn responds back to let Louis know they’re open to listening.

“It’s okay. Go on and ask us.”

“This Saturday, me and my team, that has been working on taking down Simon Cowell, are going to be making moves. We are all going under cover at a hotel where the brothel he runs is supposedly happening. We have James watching surveillance on Simon, I’ll be watching surveillance on the other patrons, but we need a few extra hands to get everything really going. We are going to need four more people. It’s nothing dangerous, you’ll be working at either the front desk, with the food service, or watching the cameras with me. I really don’t want to be asking, I don’t want any of you to get mixed up in this, but we can’t trust the hotel staff. To do this, we need people who we have faith in, to make this night a success. I-”

Harry cuts Louis off.

“You don’t need to keep giving us reasons as to why. I’d be more than happy to help.”

Zayn comes in after Harry.

“Agreed. I’d do anything for you. Liam, Niall, what do you two think?”

Niall speaks out loudly.

“I’ll finally get to live out my dream of being a superhero!”

Everyone except Liam laughs, as Liam comments at Niall.

“First off, that’s my dream, you mangy mutt! Second off, of course I’d help.”

As Harry directs his attention back to Louis from Liam, he notices that the old boy’s eyes are glossy, and one tear starts to streak down his cheek.

“Aww, Lou.”

Harry hugs Louis immediately, and before he can take another breath, three other bodies join in on the embrace. With them all entangled in limbs, surrounded by incandescent joy, Harry too starts to tear at the overwhelmingness of it all. This is his family, now. This is his home.

**Louis**

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”

Louis walks into his office with Zayn, Niall, Liam, and Harry in tow, to a screaming James.

“James? You alright?”

“Oh, hi Louis! Sorry, just nerves. Today’s the day. Today’s the fucking day!”

“Yes, it is! I’m glad we decided to meet up at the office on a Saturday. No one’s around so we don’t have to be as discreet with our conversations.”

“Yes, makes everything easier. And shit sorry, forgot to say hello. Zayn, lovely to see you again. Liam, Niall, I think we’ve only met once before, and oh…Harry! What a pleasure it is to meet you finally!”

The boys all shake James’ hand as he greets them individually. Louis smiles, as he watches Harry fumble with the handshake.  _What a clutz._

“Right, so James. Let’s debrief them again on their roles that we talked about yesterday, and then let’s head to the hotel to get their staff outfits together.”

“Good thinking, Louis. All of the employees should be gone by seven, so we don’t need to worry about that. As for you boys… Zayn, because you’re the most recognizable one out of the bunch, you’re going to watch the hotel cameras with Louis. That way, the two of you will be hidden, but also doing something extremely important for us all. Niall, Liam, you two will be working the front desk. The hotel manager said that she will get all the hotel room keys set up for you both, prior to us being there, so all you’ll have to do is give the key to the person’s name she’s tagged it. Harry, you’re going to be our delivery boy. You’re going to bring any food or drinks to the room as requested.”

Harry responds back to James.

“But what if Simon sees me? He knows who I am.”

“He does?”

Louis face-palms his head at Harry’s comment.

“Shit! I forgot about that too.”

James responds to Louis and Harry.

“You know what? Doesn’t matter. If Harry were to work front desk he’d be looked at more. Simon will be too busy with Nick, I doubt he’ll notice Harry pushing the cart in and leaving. Just don’t look nervous about it, do it confidently and everything should be fine.”

Harry nods his head, but Louis knows he’s going to be freaking out about that long after this meeting is done. Changing the subject, Louis speaks out to get the focus off of Harry.

“Does anyone else have an issue with the position they’ve been assigned?”

All the other boys shake their heads no.

“Good. Let’s get to work.”

ê ê ê ê

“Perrie Edwards. Nice to finally meet you, Mr. Tomlinson.”

The voice that Louis had heard over the phone, never would have lead Louis to the beautiful blond standing in front of him at the police station.

“Nice to meet you, police chief. We’ve got two hours until eight, and we need to make sure that we are all on the same page.”

Perrie brings Louis into her office, and sits behind her desk, as she speaks again.

“Sorry, just wanted to make sure we had more privacy. Yes, I agree. I’ll tell you everything that I’m aware of, and you tell me if I’ve got it all done, yeah?”

“Yeah, works for me.”

“Niall, Liam, Harry, Zayn, James, and yourself, are going to the hotel in one hour at seven o’clock. During that time, you all will be getting prepared for the stations that you’re covering for tonight. Niall and Liam will be at the front desk, Harry will be handling room service orders, James will be watching surveillance of Nick, and you and Zayn will be watching surveillance of the hotel and suite. An hour later, at eight pm, Nick Grimshaw will be entering into the hotel, where he will meet Simon Cowell on the top floor. As we’ve been informed, Simon and a few other members arrived at five o’clock, so there are no issues with him potentially walking in the lobby. My team and I will be staked out in the parking lot below the hotel, we’re arriving at seven thirty. We will be waiting for the orders from you and or James, unless Nick pushes the alarm on his pocket watch. When we are given our orders to enter, we will show up with our warrant, and arrest Simon while James hands over the night’s recording as evidence to our case. Did I miss anything?”

“No. It was perfect. The only thing I need as well, are the walkie-talkies for James and I. Obviously Simon will be arrested for running a brothel, but I just hope we can get the evidence we need about how it’s tying into SYCO, before all this shit hits the fan.”

“I do too, Louis. But we’ve got enough evidence to get him locked up for a while, anything more is just a bonus at this point.”

She stands up from her chair and grabs the two walkie-talkies Louis asked for, and as she hands them over, she gives Louis a smile. She’s right, Simon’s going to prison one way or the other, as long as he’s gone, Louis will be elated.

**Harry**

Mary is the hotel manager, and she’s helping Harry, Niall, and Liam get dressed into the hotel attire. She’s smiling at them, and it’s somewhat helping to alleviate Harry’s nerves, but not entirely.

“Harry, all you have to do is answer the phone, and bring the people what they want. We’ve made up everything that could be ordered on the menu, it’s all labeled and laid out for you in the kitchen. When they call, all you say is ‘room service,’ they’ll tell you what they want and you’ll go to the kitchen, and bring it up. We’ve set it up so that only the penthouse can call this phone, you won’t be dealing with anyone else.”

“Okay, Mary. I’ve got it.”

“Good! And Niall, and Liam? You just ask people for their names, and hand them the key. That’s all you have to do, if they ask any questions that you’re not sure about, just apologize by saying your new, and that you’d be happy to look into it for them. Okay?”

Niall responds back.

“Yep, got it! Thanks, Mary!”

“Oh no, thank you! You boys are so brave, I envy the courage three of you have.”

Liam starts talking back with her, but Harry’s thoughts drift from the conversation. Brave? Courage? She is right though, Harry acknowledges. This isn’t an easy thing they are doing, but he wouldn’t say that he’s brave. He’s barely making it through as they speak, his nerves are nearly taking him over. But he is a bit proud too, finally getting to be a part of taking down Simon like how he’d always wanted.

ê ê ê ê

It’s seven thirty, and Louis is walking up to three boys at the front desk, with Zayn following behind.

“Just wanted to see that you three are all set. Harry, you feeling okay?”

“Yes, Lou. I’m fine.”

Louis gives Zayn a look that says he wants alone time with Harry, so Zayn pulls the other two boys in a private conversation of their own.

“Look, Harry, I just want to say thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me that you’re helping out with this.”

“I’d do anything that you ask for, Lou.”

It shouldn’t be surprising, but Harry finds himself flustered when Louis leans up and kisses him. It’s passionate and desperate, in a way that’s filled with so many thoughts that Harry can’t decipher. When Louis pulls away, he looks at Harry, really looks into his eyes like he’s never seen them before.

“I’ll see you later?”

“Yes, Lou. I’ll be here.”

Louis smiles at the grin that lifts on Harry’s face, and then leans in to kiss Harry again. Even though the first kiss was swarmed in too many thoughts to comprehend, this kiss’ purpose comes in a bit clearer, and it seems an awful lot like good-bye.

**Louis**

“Louis, can you hear me? Over.”

James’ voice rings through the hotel surveillance room from the walkie-talkie, where Zayn and Louis are perched in front of the TV screens. There is a whole wall of about twenty different angles the cameras take, in addition to a computer James set up for the extra cameras he placed in the suite.

“Yes, James. I can hear you.”

“Louis, you forgot to say, over. Over.”

“You know, you sound like an idiot.”

“Fuck! Fine! Do you see anything yet, or not?”

“No…oh wait! Nick, I can see Nick now.”

“Good, I’m watching from his pocket watch, I can see him walking towards Liam and Niall at the front desk.”

“Perfect. James, keep telling me the play by play with Nick.”

“Sure thing. Alright he’s getting on the elevator.”

Zayn is watching the screens, while Louis is having the conversation with James.

“Has he made it up yet?”

“Just got there. Okay, he’s knocking on the door. A big burly man opens up. Bingo! Simon. Nick’s walking in, shaking his hands and Simon looks please as hell, Louis.”

“Fuck that motherfucker.”

“Language! Okay, I’m going to put the walkie towards the speaker of my computer so you can hear their conversation.”

“Okay, good.”

Not a minute later does Louis hear Simon’s voice coming through from the other end.

_“Nick! Glad you’ve made it. Come on, let’s show you around. As I’m sure you know, this is the suite in which tonight’s gathering will happen. Right now, there are thirty-five top elite men and women that come every other Saturday. As I said previously, it happens at a different hotel every time, and no one attends that is not invited by me personally.”_

_“Simon, that sounds good and all, but I still don’t know what this is. Like, what’s this all for?”_

_“Some may call it a brothel; I like to call it a gathering for those with similar interests.”_

_“A brothel? How does this tie in with SYCO? I thought you said that this business helps SYCO, and all the people involved?”_

_“Yes, yes, in due time young Nick. I’ve got much to tell you about first. You see, I think you’d be the perfect candidate to run this. I could use younger clients, especially the kind interested in making investments. Your part in this would be organizing and engaging with clients, predominantly making sure that their needs are being met. The group starts out first in the penthouse, where everyone is introduced and provided drinks, then clients are handed someone who I think they may like, before going off with them to another room. Although, sometimes some like to be public about their indiscretions, and so that all happens in the confinement of the penthouse.”_

_“So you’re telling me, that elites come to the penthouse, get assigned prostitutes, and then they can either go to a hotel room, or fuck in the penthouse in a big orgy?”_

_“In not such vulgar terminology, yes. You see, I had a hard time getting people to invest in my company. No one wanted to put money in that kind of business, so I needed to strategize a way that I could convince people to invest in me. I realized quickly that sex is pretty persuasive, and soon, people were giving me money so they could be in on the action. It’s come a long way since its beginnings, and now I’m looking to expand. That’s why I need your help.”_

_“Alright… I’m in.”_

Coming through the other side, James’ voice cuts off the conversation between Simon and Nick.

“Holy shit, Louis. Did you hear that?”

“Yes, but we still don’t know how this benefits SYCO.”

“Yeah, but holy hell.”

**Harry**

_Ring. Ring._  It’s nine thirty, this is the first time the phone is ringing, and Harry’s heart drops to his stomach.  _You’ve got this. Just answer the phone, and bring them what they want._

“Room Service.”

“Harry! This is Nick!”

“Nick? Why are you calling me?”

“Shhh. I can’t really talk. Simon wants me to order five bottles of champagne, and seven bottles of red wine.”

“Okay. If you’re doing okay, just say ‘how much.”

“How much.”

“Okay, good. I’ll get it together. But make sure Simon isn’t watching the door when I bring it up.”

“Sure thing, thanks.”

Hanging the phone up, Harry grabs for the service cart, and wheels it to the kitchen to get all the items Nick requested. Harry’s really glad it was Nick on the phone, had it been anyone else he’d be shaking too much to be able to function, but hearing Nick calmed him in some way. Once in the kitchen, Harry clutches the bottles of champagne, placing them carefully on the cart. Safely placed, Harry then reaches for the wine, delicately adding the bottles one by one, until he has a total of seven.  _Okay, now just bring it up to them._

There’s a separate elevator for the staff, that the employees who bring food and drinks take to the other hotel rooms. Harry gets into it with his cart, and clicks the button for the top floor.  _Breathe. Breathe. Breathe._ Reminding himself to breathe, Harry takes in air, and lets it out, over and over until the elevator doors open onto the floor.  _Here goes nothing._

**Louis**

“Boo, that’s Harry!”

Zayn shoves Louis’ arm so that Louis is instantly drawn to the image Zayn’s pointing to. Louis looks at the screen, and sure enough, there is Harry with the service cart full of drinks.

“Oh fuck.”

“He’s okay, Louis. Just watch.”

Together, they watch as Harry strolls the cart up to the front door, and then knocks. Not many moments pass before a large man opens the door, and Harry is handing the cart over to him. Luckily, the man doesn’t even let Harry walk in with the items, just letting him leave it for the other man to take inside. Once the man closes the door again behind him, Louis watches Harry let out the biggest exhale ever, and then runs back towards the service elevator.

“Good, he’s good!”

“I told you. Oh shit, look. Some people are leaving the hotel room.”

In the same location Harry had just been, four people exit the hotel room. Louis and Zayn hadn’t seen anything going on since people had entered in at nine, but now, a half hour later and people are moving again.

“I wonder if they’re heading to separate hotel rooms like Simon had mentioned earlier?”

Zayn shrugs his shoulder.

“Probably.”

“Louis? Louis?”

The walkie-talkie is going off, but this time, it’s Perrie’s voice coming through the speaker.

“Police chief, I’m right here.”

“Any news yet?”

“We’ve got some but not enough. Turns out everyone meets in the penthouse, and then most of them split off to separate hotel rooms, while some stay in the penthouse and have a big orgy.”

“What are we waiting for then?”

“We need to know how it connects. We need to know how it connects to SYCO. How is it helping out his other business?”

“Why does that matter?”

“There’s a connection there, and I’m sure it’s important. Please, please give me some more time.”

“You’re getting another half hour, and if nothing happens by then, I’m going in.”

Dammit.

ê ê ê ê

“James!”

Louis is talking over the walkie-talkie again, anxiety flying through the roof.

“Yes, Louis?”

“We’ve got another fifteen minutes before Perrie sends off her men.”

“Yes, this is the third time you’ve told me.”

“Well, get Nick to get to the fucking point!”

“And how am I supposed to do that? Hm?”

“I don’t….I don’t know. Ugh!”

Waiting for James to respond, Louis starts banging his head on the table, when Zayn starts poking him hard in his side.

“Louis! Louis! Look!”

“Huh?”

Glancing at the screen, Zayn is pointing this time to the hotel door opening, and a gangly Nick walking out, trailed closely by Simon. Shit.

“Where are they going?”

“Zayn, I have not one fucking clue.”

“Something’s up. Louis, something’s not right.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just look at them. Simon’s walking too close behind Nick. And shit, Louis, look! Nick’s pocket watch is gone!”

And when Louis squints closely he finds Zayn is right. The pocket watch is gone.

“Oh shit. Hold on.”

Louis presses the button to speak to James. Trying to get a hold of him, again.

“James! James! The pocket watch is gone!”

Nothing.

“Fuck! I’ve got to tell Perrie, and then I’m going down to Harry. You need to go to Liam, and Niall. Get them to the parking lot ASAP!”

“Do you want me to wait for you?”

“NO! Go now!”

Zayn rushes out of the room, and Louis calls in to Perrie through the walkie.

“Perrie! Perrie!”

“Louis?”

“Perrie! Have you talked to James?”

“No, why?”

“Nick ’s pocket watch is gone! And Simon is walking him off somewhere.”

“Shit! Alright, I’m going in now. You find Harry, and come straight to the parking lot. We’re going to find James, and hopefully get to Nick before Simon does anything.”

Louis sprints faster than he’s ever possibly run before, he doesn’t wait for an elevator to take him down, he takes the stairs, and he heads straight until he finds Harry. Once he’s found, Louis sees that Harry is sitting on a chair picking at his fingernails, and Louis is overwhelmingly glad that the boy is completely unaware of what’s happened. But the moment doesn’t last when Louis remembers they are currently in serious danger.

“Harry! We need to get out!”

“Huh? Lou?”

“Harry, I think Simon’s figured it out. He’s taking Nick, and we need to-”

The sound of a bullet cuts Louis’ conversation off, and he quickly jumps on top of Harry to protect him from anything else coming their way.

“I knew it.”

That voice. That toe curling, stomach churning voice, sends nerves avalanching viciously in Louis. Simon.

“Stand up!”

Louis cautiously stands up off of Harry, as Harry does the same, both looking up to find Simon staring back at them with a gun in his hands.

“Where’s Nick, Simon?”

Maybe the weapon should be enough of a warning for Louis not to get ballsy, but he has too many riddles he needs to solve to stay quiet.

“A friend, is he? Left him with my men to deal with. Oh and what’s this, brought your pet along for the ride, too?”

“Don’t listen to him, Harry!”

“Yes, don’t listen to me. By the way, how are you liking tonight’s affairs, Harry? Does it all seem a little…familiar?”

“Wha…what are you talking about, you pompous bastard?!”

“Don’t you know? Hasn’t Harry told you how I know him so well?”

Louis is fuming, and he really wants to rip Simon to shreds with his bare hands, but…but what is that he’s saying about Harry?

“His mum worked for you.”

Louis glances over to Harry whose crying, and his head is hung so low down. Trying to extend his fingers, Louis just wants to hold Harry’s hand, but suddenly he’s being shot at again. The bullet just barely misses where Louis’ fingers had been reaching, he can even feel a burning tingle at the tips where it had passed by. Simon shrieks at them once the echo of the shot subsides.

“Don’t touch! And worked? That’s a laugh! Harry, dear. Why don’t you tell Louis just exactly how your mum worked for me?”

“No, please don’t.”

Harry’s words sound broken, and vulnerable. They shake as they escape from his trembling lips, and Louis wants to terribly hold him close, shield him from the darkness that’s invading this room.

“Fine! If you won’t, I will. You see the wonderful gathering I had tonight, Louis?”

“You mean the whorehouse?”

“Same difference. But anyways, Harry’s mum…she was the best. All the men requested to have her, and she would-”

“STOP IT! STOP IT!”

Louder than Simon, Harry’s voice screams into noise. After he’s stops yelling, Louis turns his wide-eyed gaze at Harry as the small bit of information clicks in his head.  _She was the best. All the men requested to have her…_

“Harry, your mum? She was a? She was…?”

“NO! Simon forced her! Didn’t you, you fucking animal!?”

“She owed me money. That’s how business works.”

Louis cuts in before Harry can.

“Business? What business?”

“Ugh, keep up here Tomlinson. Harry’s mum had a loan she couldn’t pay back. At SYCO, we have…unconventional ways in making sure that clients pay back what they owe us.”

“So you forced her to be a prostitute?”

“Escort, Louis. Prostitute has such a bad taste to it.”

“Are you fucking insane?”

“No, I’m a businessman. I needed investments, and people invest in sex. This also happens to work quite nicely, because everyone who owes through SYCO, has to work for me until they’ve made back what they owe, plus interest.”

“So that’s how it all connects? The elites who invest into SYCO get a go at your whorehouse, where they have to pay again to have sex with people who owe the business money. What happens once those people have earned enough money to cover their loans?”

“They’re free to go. Obviously not until they sign a few forms on confidentiality, but very soon after.”

“And this honestly worked?”

“Yes. People were investing into my company, and clients that weren’t paying back their loans managed to return the money within two years’ time.”

“Wha…I…I don’t even know what to say.”

“Say your impressed, Louis.”

“That’s how you blackmailed them too, isn’t it? Our own clients left us because you had proof of them at your ‘gatherings.’”

“Now you’re keeping up.”

Looking away from Simon, Louis watches as Harry is still bawling uncontrollably to himself. This is everything Harry had been hiding, everything that he had kept to himself, all laid out like an ugly doormat for Simon to step on.

“You know, Simon. I pity you. You couldn’t do it on your own, could you? Had to resort to dirty money to even get your business off the ground. And to use people the way that you have, is fucking immoral. I hope you rot in the prison cell that they put you in.”

“Won’t be able to put me in prison if I kill you both first, now will they?”

This time, Louis stands a little taller and smirks with malicious intent.

“Oh yeah?”

In his left hand, that had slightly been hidden behind himself the whole time, Louis throws the walkie-talkie in the middle of the floor.

“What’s that?”

“A walkie that I had on the entire time we’ve been talking. And on the other end of it, is Police Chief Perrie Edwards, ready to arrest your fucking arse!”

Simon’s entire expression is furious as he lifts his hands to shoot at Louis, but another shot is fired just moments before, directly into Simon’s hand.

“Ahhhhhhhh! Fuck!”

Instantly, Louis grabs Harry in his arms, and covers his eyes from Simon’s bloody mutilated hands. Perrie runs over from the far right corner of the room where she shot Simon, surrounding him with five other men, and putting him forcibly in handcuffs.

“Simon Cowell, you are under arrest.”

Perrie gives her other men a nod, as they grab Simon by the arms, and start to read off the Miranda rights to him.

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…”

“Louis? Harry? Are you both okay?”

Harry clutches onto Louis with an almost painful grasp as Perrie checks on them briefly, but Louis knows that despite the potentially scarring experience, physically they are both fine.

“Yes, Perrie, we’re good. You’ve saved our lives; I can’t thank you enough.”

“Louis, you should be very proud of yourself, you’ve done a lot more saving tonight than I have.”

Louis’ cheeks flush at the compliment.

“What about James? Or Nick?”

“They’re alright. Intercepted the men that had Nick early on, and James had just been in the bathroom. The bloody bastard!”

“Oh for fucks sake.”

They both laugh, but then Louis looks down at Harry, still tucked into his side.

“Right, well, I’ll be heading off. Got a mounds worth of paperwork to do for all of this. Take care of him, yeah?”

“Will do. Thanks again!”

Perrie walks off and Louis squeezes Harry tighter, kissing his head of curls as many times as he can until it’s time that they both should leave.

**Harry**

Eventually, Zayn, Liam, Niall, Nick, and James are seen in the parking lot where Louis and Harry are heading too. As soon as the other group of men see the two boys coming, they all run forward and start pulling everyone into hugs. Louis, Nick, and James are in a firm embrace, cheering their victory, as Zayn pulls the other three boys together, praising how proud he is of everyone.

“Louis, Nick, you feel up for a couple pints? Zayn, do you and your boys want to come along, too?”

James asks everyone about going out, but Louis must see Harry’s face, because Louis immediately starts to decline.

“I would love to, but I’ve got some stuff I need to take care of first.”

Harry feels bad, but then Louis reaches for his hand, and the beginnings of guilt immediately dissipate.

“James, we’ll still go out. I think Niall’s been praying for beer since this morning.”

“Don’t joke, Zayn. Only since five.”

The others laugh, then wave good-bye to Harry and Louis, as they descend to their cars and drive off. When Louis turns back to face Harry, Harry feels the tears well up at his eyes, but Louis’ already there to wipe them away. Louis only stops when Harry takes a sharp inhale, and begins to confide in Louis.

“I guess now you know, why I surrendered myself.”

There’s a tragic frown on Louis’ face, but he searches once more for Harry’s hands, and holds them carefully within his own.

“I’d much rather hear it from you, love.”

All of Harry’s courage had been depleted for the night, but Louis leans in to kiss Harry gingerly on his cheek, and it supplies Harry just enough more to get the story out.

“My mum had been struggling for money for a long time, and she had tried getting loans but they wouldn’t approve her. Eventually, she went to SYCO, and to her surprise had been accepted. For a short time, there were things to be excited about again, but then she started to struggle on making the monthly payments. Once, there was a month where she missed paying them back at all. After that, they called her in for a meeting, and then things started to get worse. We didn’t know what was happening, but it was as if life was just draining out of her, her purpose was draining out of her. She stopped wanting to go to work, she stopped wanting to eat, she stopped wanting to do much of anything. Gemma started to be the one that would take care of me, while mum would stay in bed all day.

And then mum was drinking a lot too, and when she was drunk, she would let slip what she had been doing on all those Saturday nights. I couldn’t believe it. But at the time, I had no idea how to help her. It wasn’t until a year later after that moment, Simon came over to the house and was yelling at my mum about how she needed to make him more money or he was going to force Gemma to start making up for what she couldn’t cover. I was…I was fucking furious! And I went out to tell him to fuck off, but my mum yelled at me to go back inside my room. I couldn’t Louis…I couldn’t keep ignoring it. I couldn’t risk my sister getting pulled into all that shit. So the next day, the next day I surrendered myself, and told them that the money I earned from being sold was to go directly to them. And Louis, it was enough. It was enough to pay off that loan, and get them far away from here, far away from Simon. But I didn’t realize…I didn’t realize that that would mean they’d be far away from me too.”

Harry is hysterical, and Louis starts crying too, at the heartbreaking view.

“Harry, darling. You are the bravest person I know, and you were able to help your mum, and your sister in a way that no one else could. You helped them escape from that life, and yeah, they may be far away from you right now, but not for long. If they miss you like I think they do, love, they’re going to do everything they can to find you again. You’re so special Harry, no one could possibly live without you and be happy. It just doesn’t work like that.”

Louis lays fast and needy kisses all over Harry, and they feel strange against Harry’s damp skin, but Harry doesn’t care. He lets Louis hold him for what feels like hours, until Louis’ sure that Harry won’t physically fall apart when he lets go.

“Are you ready to go home, love?”

With a little sniffle, Harry nods.

“Yes.”

**Two Days Later**

**Louis**

_Ring. Ring. Ring._

“Louis Tomlinson speaking.”

“Mr. Tomlinson, sir. Your father is on the phone, I know you said not to take any calls from him, but he’s insistent.”

Sighing loudly into the receiver, Louis rests his forehead into his palm, and rubs at his tired eyes.

“Ugh, fine. Put him through.”

“Sorry. Will do, sir.”

There’s a sound as she clicks a button, and then ringing as the line is being directed. Only seconds pass by the time Louis’ father answers the other end, loud with insurmountable gusto.

“Louis, my son! Congratulations! I am so proud of you. You’re going to be a terrific CEO of Tomlinson Enterprises, of that I am sure!”

“Thanks father, but I can’t possibly take even half the credit for the work that was done. I had wonderful assistance with this case, they should really be the ones receiving the praise.”

“Whatever. The point is, it’s done. Simon is arrested and in prison, and you’ve proven your worthiness at the family company.”

Biting his fingernails, Louis is trying especially hard to ignore the annoyance that is climbing up his back.

“You know father-”

“I’ve been thinking, that maybe it will be nice to retire within the next five years. I can start training you to take over my position as early as next year.”

As his father not only cuts him off, but then proceeds to talk about Louis’ life as if Louis has no say in the matter, Louis’ patience snaps. He’s well crossed the boundary of his limits, and he cannot hold back any longer.

“Father, I’m going to be honest here with you. In five years…no, in as little as one year, I will not be working for you anymore.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m done. I’m done with this job, I’m done with this company, I’m done with you. I am no longer letting you decide my life for me. I begged when I was younger to work in the music industry, and you shot my dreams down. Well, not anymore. I’m going back to pursuing what I love, and you can’t dictate my choices anymore.”

Louis’ father’s voice comes off pretentiously.

“Well then, why don’t I just fire you today?”

“Because I’m too big an asset for you to let go of, and you have no one to replace me, yet. So I’ll stay, and I’ll even train your next worthy prodigy, but then I’m gone.”

“Louis William Tomlinson-”

“There’s nothing to discuss further. Thank you, have a good day.”

When Louis ends the call, frustration is stampeding throughout every morsel of his being, but a sliver of happiness shines through. As that pure and unadulterated feeling starts to settle in his bones, Louis revels in it and smiles; because hanging up the phone on his father was like hanging up on a life’s worth of problems… liberating.

**Two Weeks Later**

“How did the interview with the bookstore go, darling?”

“It went well! They want me to come back tomorrow for training.”

Walking down the city streets to grab a quick bite to eat during his lunch break, Louis talks proudly on the phone with Harry.

“That’s excellent! I’m so glad that this went well, I know how much you really wanted this job!”

“Yeah, the bookstore is so peaceful and calm, and I’ve really missed getting to read. Can’t wait to come back again tomorrow.”

“That’s wonderful. Look, I’ve got to get going but we’re still on for dinner tonight, right? Everyone’s excited to come over and celebrate! Can’t believe it’s been two weeks.”

“Me neither! And yes, Niall and Liam are helping me cook. There’s going to be quite a few of us there later, so we’ll need to make a lot.”

“Okay, love. And thank you, for doing this.”

“Of course, babe.”

“Talk to you later.”

“Bye!”

The minute Louis hangs up and pockets his phone, a blissful grin dresses itself on his face. He is without a doubt, overjoyed for tonight, but not just because he’s getting to see everyone. No, there’s so much to be insatiably happy about that he can’t even begin to count. It’s wonderful.

ê ê ê ê

“James! So great to see you again! And Julia! Looking beautiful as always!”

James and his wife give Louis a hug, as they enter into his house. The smell of food is wafting in the air, and music is just audible enough to be heard in the background, but not a distraction.

“Louis, you fucking flirt! Lay off my wife. Where’s Nick, did he arrive yet?”

“He’s here in the kitchen, talking with Harry about books and shit. I don’t know, I couldn’t keep up.”

Laughing, James pats Louis on the shoulder, and then leads his wife into the kitchen where Nick, Harry, Zayn, Niall, and Liam are already situated. Louis glides behind them into the other room too, grabbing himself a beer before he hears once more, the doorbell ring again.

“Perrie! So wonderful that you could make it! And oh, who are these beautiful ladies?’

“These are my roommates! This is Jade, Leigh-Anne, and Jesy.”

“Well come on in! More the merrier!”

All the ladies walk excitedly inside, heading further into the house to see and meet everyone else. Louis follows again, going towards the kitchen to be with everyone that’s there, when Harry’s voice speaks out to him.

“Hey, Lou. That should be everyone, yeah?”

“Yeah! Think so!”

Cheerfully, Harry starts getting the dishes and pots of food ready for everyone to pull from, when the doorbell rings one last time.  _They’re early._

“Harry love, do you mind getting that this time? I need to pee.”

Setting down a plate, Harry smiles and nods, wiping his hands on his pants before making his way to the door. Louis quietly creeps behind him, trying not to make too much noise as he stalks after Harry to the front. Anxious, Louis can barely contain himself as Harry twists the doorknob, and swings open the door.

“What the…Mum? Gem? What…oh my god. Oh my god!”

Louis watches Harry reach his long arms around the two girls, crying and laughing frantically into a messy hug. He tries to wait a few moments, tries to give them their time, but the anticipation has been killing Louis all day, and he’s far too thrilled to miss a good moment.

“Harry?”

Walking over as if he has no idea what’s happening, Louis pulls the door open wider to Harry intertwined his family.

“Louis!! It’s my mum, and my sister, Gemma!”

“Oh my god, it’s so nice to meet you! I’ve heard so much about you both.”

Harry takes his arms away so that Anne and Gemma can properly meet Louis.

“Louis, is it? Hi! You can call me, Anne!”

Once Louis has Anne fully in his sights, he can see the obscene similarities between the gorgeous woman and her son. The dark hair, the green eyes, the same crooked smile. Before Louis has too long to study her, Anne grabs Louis for a firm hug, and then only let’s go so that Gemma can introduce herself and give him a hug also. When Harry’s blonde haired sister slides her arms off Louis’ frame, he stands up tall and talks to the ladies again.

“Well don’t stand outside, come in. Relax!”

It’s only then that Louis can see they’re riddled with nerves, but they keep close to Harry, stepping inside and into the foyer of the house. As they begin to take their shoes off, Louis takes the opportunity to whisper discreetly in Harry’s ear.

“Take your time to talk to them, love. Don’t worry about the party if you’re gone for a while.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, love.”

Harry pecks Louis’s lips with a doting kiss, and then returns back to his family.

“Mum, Gem? How do you feel about a tour?”

ê ê ê ê

In the kitchen cleaning up, Louis is reminiscing over the night’s events. The party went by amazingly. Perrie and her roommates made themselves immediately at home, and the conversations amongst everyone flowed better than Louis could have expected. Harry was off for most of the time with his family, but eventually they came out, red glossy eyes and all, and made their rounds engaging with everyone. Harry was especially excited to introduce his family to Zayn, Liam, and Niall, who was a bit flirty with Harry’s sister Gemma at some points. Zayn…well he wasn’t so thrilled about that.

“Lou?”

Bringing Louis back to the present, Harry’s footsteps are heard as he enters into the kitchen, looking around for Louis until he finds him at the sink.

“Mum and Gemma just left. Said they’re staying at a hotel tonight; they didn’t want to impose. We’re going to go out for dinner after my training tomorrow though, and they would love for you to come along.”

“Of course, love.”

“They also told me that you were the one who found them.”

Louis puts down the sponge he was using to scrub away at some of the dirty dishes.

“Let’s just say that I had one last job for James to do.”

“I love you.”

Louis’ heart stops.

“Huh?”

“I love you, Lou.”

“Wait! Wait! I have one more surprise, and I don’t want you to say anything until after I give it to you.”

Harry cocks his head in confusion, but Louis grabs his hand and leads him to their bedroom before he has time to ask any questions. Once in the room, Louis motions for Harry to sit, as Louis starts shuffling through his briefcase. After a few seconds, he pulls out a packet of papers, and turns nervously back to Harry.

“I’ve been looking into this for a while, and I wasn’t even sure it could be done. Eventually, I found a person who specialized in doing these kinds of things, and while it took me some time, I finally managed to get this approved. I had been holding on to it for a few days, I wasn’t sure when I was going to give it to you, but tonight seems as good a time as any.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Harry, I…I’m giving you back your freedom. All you have to do is sign your name on a few of the sheets, and then you no longer have to stay here with me. Or you could, but only if you wanted to.”

“What did you just say?”

“I’m giving you back your freedom, and no…not because I don’t want you anymore, but because I love you more than you could ever possibly know. And I don’t want anything about how I feel about you, to ever again be confused by the fact that I have your rights. So now you’re free, and if you want you can stay with me, but it has to be your choice. I’ll love you no matter what you choose.”

Harry stands up off the bed, and languidly steps forward towards Louis, until their noses are practically touching.

“I love you.”

“You don’t have to say that.”

“I’m not. I’m saying it because I do, not because I feel like I have to. I love you with every atom of my being, and I want to be with you, freedom or not. You’re my absolute, my everything, and I don’t care how we go about it. As long as I can be here with you, then that’s all that I need.”

“Do you mean it? Honestly?”

“Every single word.”

Louis inches closer into Harry’s space, easing slowly into Harry’s lips like it’s the first time he’s getting to kiss him. And maybe it is. Maybe now that Harry is free, this kiss counts for so much more, because it’s wanted, needed, for no other reason than because it’s coming from Louis. Letting Louis’ lips press tentatively into Harry, a volcano erupts in Louis’ heart at the touch. Harry presses back into him, moving his soft, satin lips against Louis with growing desire. With just one kiss, Harry has Louis wrecked, and Louis couldn’t be more elated about it. Harry wants him, flaws and all, and Louis could just about combust from that. But he doesn’t, instead, he whispers into the small space that opens between their parting lips, as Harry takes a breath.

“I love you, too.”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

>  _Thank you all so much_  
>     
>    
> Here is the [rebloggable post](http://afangirlfantasy.tumblr.com/post/147769233751/i-finished-another-story-and-uggh-this-took-me)  
> This is my main blog: [afangirlfantasy](http://afangirlfantasy.tumblr.com)  
> This is my fic rec / author rec side blog: [alarriefantasy](http://alarriefantasy.tumblr.com)


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